A leading lawmaker in Hungary known for his rants against Jewish people was forced to resign from the far-right Jobbik Party after he publicly admitted to being a Jew himself.

Despite learning in 2010 that his grandparents on his mother's side were Jewish Holocaust survivors, Csanad Szegedi continued to attack the "Jewishness" of his political rivals and claimed Jewish artists were desecrating national Hungarian symbols.

After rumors began to spread online that Szegedi was hiding his Jewish ancestry, the politician came clean, and was asked to step down.

"I learnt not long ago that I had parents of Jewish origins, that's the big news," he told the extreme-right daily Barikad back in June. "I think that what counts is not to know who is a pure race Hungarian, the important thing is the way one behaves as a Hungarian."

The Jobbik Party claims it has no problem with his Jewish background — rather they take issue when his attempt to keep the matter silent by trying to bribe the convicted felon who first confronted him with the truth about his grandparents.

Szegedi has so far refused to relinquish his membership in the European Parliament, despite pressure from Jobbik officials.

Since news of his ancestry emerged, Szegedi has apologized to Hungary's Jewish community for his past statements, and pledged to visit Auschwitz, the notorious concentration camp where his grandmother was held during the war.

[photo via AP]