BUDAPEST -- Around 10,000 Hungarians protested on Sunday against the far-right opposition Jobbik party, after one of its lawmakers triggered outrage and memories of Nazism by calling for lists of Jews to be drawn up.

The rally outside Budapest's parliament brought together leaders from governing and opposition parties in an unprecedented show of unity in the country's deeply divided political scene.

"We cannot allow things which belong to the darkest pages of history books to repeat themselves," Antal Rogan, head of the ruling Fidesz party's parliamentary group, told demonstrators who waved national flags and demanded the resignation of Jobbik MP Marton Gyongyosi.

On Monday Gyongyosi, one of Jobbik's 44 lawmakers in the 386-seat parliament, said after a debate on fighting in the Gaza Strip it would be "timely" to tally up people of Jewish ancestry in Hungary who posed a national security risk.

He later apologized and said his remarks had been misunderstood, adding that he was referring only to Hungarians with Israeli passports in the government and parliament. But he said he would not resign.

'National security risk': Far-right leader pushes Hungary to draw up list of Jews

In 2010, Jobbik became the third-biggest party in parliament on a campaign vilifying the Roma minority and attracting voters frustrated by a deepening economic crisis.  Jobbik was registered as a party in 2003 and won increasing influence from 2006 onwards.

Former prime minister Gordon Bajnai of the centrist Egyutt (Together) 2014 movement said Gyongyosi's remarks revealed the true nature of Jobbik and parties should join forces against the far right.

"If we want a new era of normality in politics in Hungary then this is the number one moral order: one must team up with everyone against the Nazis, but must not team up with the Nazis not even for power," Bajnai told the rally.

'Fascism is a virus'
The party has retained support in the recession-hit central European country and some analysts said it could hold the balance of power between centre-right Fidesz and the left-wing opposition in the next elections in 2014.

"Fascism is a virus and Jobbik is the one spreading this virus," said Attila Mesterhazy, leader of the biggest opposition party, the Socialists. He called on Prime Minister Viktor Orban to speak up in parliament on Monday to condemn Jobbik.

Jobbik dismissed the protest as "political alarmism" in a statement on Sunday, adding that its opponents' comments reflected desperation over the rise of the party's support.

The government condemned Gyongyosi's remarks in a statement on Tuesday, pledging to do "everything" to suppress extremist, racist and anti-Semitic voices.

Want a European Union passport? Just invest $322,000 in Hungary

The protesters, who gathered in wintry temperatures, demanded immediate action against the far right and welcomed the rare manifestation of unity from politicians at the rally.

Businessman Gyorgy Sarkozy, 43, said: "It's very important to be here in person, all of us, to protest against what's happening in Hungary now. This is the shame of the world, this fascist movement.

"Perhaps now we will see such joining of forces which will not only restrain their (Jobbik's) rhetoric but also this whole Nazi party. This is a Nazi party."

About 500,000 to 600,000 Hungarian Jews were killed in the Holocaust, according to a memorial centre in Budapest. Some survivors reached Israel. Some 100,000 Jews now live in Hungary.

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BUDAPEST, Hungary -- A Hungarian far-right politician urged the government to draw up a list of Jews who pose a "national security risk", stirring outrage among Jewish leaders who saw echoes of fascist policies that led to the Holocaust.

Marton Gyongyosi, a leader of Hungary's third-strongest political party Jobbik, said the list was necessary because of heightened tensions following the brief conflict in Gaza and should include members of parliament.

Opponents have condemned frequent anti-Semitic slurs and tough rhetoric against the Roma minority by Gyongyosi's party as populist point scoring ahead of elections in 2014.

Jobbik has never called publicly for lists of Jews.

"I am a Holocaust survivor," said Gusztav Zoltai, executive director of the Hungarian Jewish Congregations' Association. "For people like me this generates raw fear, even though it is clear that this only serves political ends. This is the shame of Europe, the shame of the world."

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Hungarian Jews died in the Holocaust, according to the Holocaust Memorial Center in Budapest. According to some accounts, one in three Jews killed in Auschwitz were Hungarian nationals.

Gyongyosi's call came after Foreign Ministry State Secretary Zsolt Nemeth said Budapest favored a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as benefiting both Israelis with Hungarian ancestry, Hungarian Jews and Palestinians in Hungary.

Gyongyosi, who leads Jobbik's foreign policy cabinet, told Parliament: "I know how many people with Hungarian ancestry live in Israel, and how many Israeli Jews live in Hungary," according to a video posted on Jobbik's website late on Monday.

"I think such a conflict makes it timely to tally up people of Jewish ancestry who live here, especially in the Hungarian Parliament and the Hungarian government, who, indeed, pose a national security risk to Hungary."

Gyongyosi apologizes
Gyongyosi, 35, is the son of a diplomat who grew up mostly in the Middle East and Asia -- Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan and India -- and whose office is decorated by Iranian and Turkish souvenirs. He graduated with a degree in business and political science from Trinity College in Dublin in 2000.

He worked for four years at the Dublin office of KPMG, then returned to Budapest in 2005. He has been active in Jobbik since 2006 and became their representative in parliament in 2010.

Want a European Union passport? Just invest $322,000 in Hungary

The government condemned the remarks.

"The government strictly rejects extremist, racist, anti-Semitic voices of any kind and does everything to suppress such voices," the government spokesman's office said.

Laszlo Kover, the Speaker of parliament, who is from the ruling Fidesz party, also issued a statement on Tuesday in which he called for a tightening of house rules that would allow a sanctioning of such behavior.

Gyongyosi tried to play down his comments on Tuesday, saying he was referring to citizens with dual Israeli-Hungarian citizenship.

"I apologize to my Jewish compatriots for my declarations that could be misunderstood," he said on Jobbik's website.

He later told a news conference that he would not resign and considered the matter "closed," national news agency MTI reported.

King maker?
Jobbik's anti-Semitic discourse often evokes a centuries-old blood libel - the accusation that Jews used Christians' blood in religious rituals.

"Jobbik has moved from representing medieval superstition (of the blood libel) to openly Nazi ideologies," wrote Slomo Koves, chief rabbi of the Unified Hungarian Jewish Congregation.

Jobbik registered as a political party in 2003, and gained increasing influence as it radicalized gradually, vilifying Jews and the country's 700,000 Roma.

The group gained notoriety after founding the Hungarian Guard, an unarmed vigilante group reminiscent of World War Two-era far-right groups. It entered Parliament at the 2010 elections and holds 44 of 386 seats.

The center-right government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban has struggled to pull Hungary out of recession as many European countries suffer from an economic crisis.

Orban's Fidesz has lost more than a million voters since 2010, even though it is still the strongest political force.

More than half of Hungary's electorate is undecided and having retained its voter base, some analysts say Jobbik could hold the balance of power in the 2014 elections between Fidesz and the fragmented left-wing opposition.

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