A lawmaker with Hungary�s nationalistic Jobbik party says he is resigning his seat in parliament after the leak of a recording on which he could be heard making anti-Semitic comments.

Istvan Szavay of the Jobbik party has denied hitting or hurting a Jewish woman, saying his boasts about it heard on the recording reportedly made in May were �shameful and humiliating jokes.�

Szavay said Monday he was resigning to avoid hindering Jobbik�s efforts to defeat Prime Minister Viktor Orban�s Fidesz party.

Several other Jobbik lawmakers and politicians have made statements considered anti-Semitic since the party entered Parliament in 2010, but in recent years Jobbik has made efforts to tone down its far-right rhetoric to expand its voter base.

(AP)