Csanád Szegedi

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Csanád Szegedi, born September 22, 1982, in Miskolc, Hungary, is a politician and former Member of the European Parliament. He was a leading figure in the far-right Jobbik party from 2003 to 2012, a group that has been accused of antisemitism.

In 2012 Szegedi publicly learned that his maternal grandparents were Jewish—his grandmother survived Auschwitz and his grandfather was a forced-labour camp veteran. He began converting to Judaism, adopted the name Dovid, started wearing a kippah, learned Hebrew, visited Israel, and became a practicing Jew.

Before leaving Jobbik, Szegedi held several roles: he led the party in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county (2005–2009) and served as vice-president in 2006. He helped found the Hungarian Guard in 2007, which was banned in 2009. He served as an MEP from 2009 to 2014 and wrote a book outlining his political views, including Eurosceptic ideas and Turanism. He was also criticized for actions related to staff salaries from the European Parliament budget and for connections to a racist website; he denied wrongdoing.

In July 2012 he resigned from all Jobbik positions, though he initially hoped to keep his MEP seat. Jobbik said the issue was the bribery allegation connected to news about his origins, not his ancestry. He later apologized to Rabbi Slomó Köves and traveled to Israel with his wife in 2013. The 2016 documentary Keep Quiet covers his return to Judaism. He is married with two sons.