Austria: Student assaulted for reading book on Jews, cops accuse her of provocation

Via Algemeiner:

Police officers in Vienna were under extra scrutiny on Friday in the wake of a woeful response from two street cops to a complaint of serious antisemitic harassment from a frightened 19-year-old student.

The unnamed student, from the region of Carinthia, is a Jewish Studies major at a university in the Austrian capital. Earlier this week, she was traveling on Vienna’s underground rail system, the U-Bahn, while reading a book with the visible title, “The Jews in the Modern World.” Three men in the same carriage spotted what the student was reading and proceeded to shower her with vicious insults. Calling her “Jew slut” and “child murderer,” the men also pulled her hair, according to Austria’s Kronen Zeitung newspaper.

The shocked student exited the train at the next station and found two police officers at street level. However, when she described the incident, the officers questioned her choice of reading material, asking whether she thought it was appropriate to read a book with such a title during a “time of such conflict.”

The two officers also asked the victim whether she was Jewish. When she replied that she was not, she was wrongly told that she was not eligible to file a complaint of antisemitism.

When she turned up at a police station, the young woman met with a similarly disinterested response. When she asked whether the perpetrators could be apprehended, she was informed that this would be “difficult,” and advised to “forget about” the entire outrage.

read more

Austria: Someone shouted at Jewish students, “you can shove your Holocaust up your ass.” Everyone clapped.

Yesterday Jewish students organized a demonstration against antisemitism in Vienna. (Mostly) Islamist and Turkish nationalist youth tried to interrupt it multiple times.

Someone shouted “you can shove your Holocaust up your ass.” Everyone clapped. pic.twitter.com/xe12iHoKux

— Bini Guttmann 🟣 (@Bini_Guttmann) May 16, 2021

Austria: Chancellor Kurz: PM Netanyahu warned me about the seriousness of the coronavirus crisis

Praise where praise is due.

Via EJP:

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in a video interview with the German newspaper Bild that a phone call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “shocked” him out his relative complacency regarding the coronavirus crisis in Europe.

“You underestimate that in Europe, wake up and do something,” Netanyahu told the Austrian leader. Even after talking to Asian heads of government, this became clear to him, Kurz said.

Last week, Austria took “very serious measures”, namely the closure of schools, restaurants and shops as well as exit restrictions. These measures would now remain in force until April 13.

read more

Europe: How bad is antisemitism in Europe? Survey suggests it's rampant.

Melissa Langsam Braunstein via The Federalist:

[…] When 36 percent of Portuguese respondents, along with 32 percent of Spaniards, 31 percent of Italians, and 28 percent of Belgians agree that “Jews always pursue their own interests and not the interest of the country they live in,” that’s concerning. And when 36 percent of Italians, 33 percent of Portuguese, 30 percent of Spanish, and 28 percent of Belgian respondents tell Pew pollsters they agree that “Jews always overstate how much they have suffered,” that’s a red flag. Neighbors who believe you’re exaggerating about historical suffering are unlikely to empathize over your contemporary concerns.  

For a more explicit deep-dive into this subject, consult the ADL Global 100 index of antisemitism, which added an 18-nation update in 2019. ADL’s top-line conclusion is that 24 percent of Western Europeans and 34 percent of Eastern Europeans hold antisemitic views. Those numbers are followed by extensive, substantiating details.

Hesitating to dub strangers antisemites is wise, especially based on limited information. It’s worth reading the country reports in full, if only to understand the particular form antisemitism takes in each society. However, I’d like to focus on the survey’s first question as an important sign post for this inquiry.

Respondents were asked whether “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to [this country/to the countries they live in].” Anyone answering “probably true” views Jews as “the other.” Whether through ignorance or malice, this group is primed to believe antisemitic conspiracy theories, including myths about Jews controlling financial markets, the media, and world governments, or blaming Jews for the world’s wars.

The fact that 33 percent of British respondents deemed that statement “probably true” helps explain Corbynism’s growth and the “record high total of 1,805 antisemitic incidents in the UK last year.” Also, the fact that 64 percent of Poles, 62 percent of Spaniards, 50 percent of Belgians, 49 percent of Germans, 49 percent of Austrians, and 39 percent of Russians think this statement is “probably true” speaks volumes.

It’s easier to understand Jews being widely dehumanized at public celebrations when we understand how widespread the antisemitic virus is in Europe. That knowledge necessarily informs European Jews’ decisions about how openly Jewish to be in their daily lives - for those who aren’t visibly Jewish - and whether they consider it safe to remain in their home countries.  

For those who would combat antisemitism, it also offers a window into the immense challenge ahead. Antisemitism’s European roots are centuries deep, so any curricular component would have to start long before the Holocaust.

Also worth pondering is the microscopic percentage of respondents truly familiar with Jews. That only 2 percent of Polish respondents reported interacting with Jews “very often,” while the same was true of 4 percent of respondents in Belgium and 1 percent in Spain, is instructive. Demonizing people you know only as ugly caricatures is easy. So it’s theoretically possible that person-to-person diplomacy, especially starting at early ages, could help reverse some of these conspiratorial beliefs.

But fundamentally, this is not European Jewry’s problem to fix. If things change, it will be because Europe’s non-Jewish majority decides it’s time to make their nations’ collective future brighter than their past.

read more

Europe: Like schnitzel, anti-Semitism has become part of the cultural fabric of Europe

Ben Cohen @ JNS:

The three most common stereotypes neatly encapsulate the triangular denunciation of the Jews: They dominate the economy and financial markets; they are more loyal to the State of Israel than they are to the continent; and they talk endlessly of their suffering during the Holocaust.  

The following quotes are from Jewish citizens of various European countries, gathered during a survey earlier this year on Jewish perceptions of anti-Semitism that was carried out by the European Union.  

“Anti-Semitism and racism are like the Wiener Schnitzel. They are part of the Austrian cultural heritage, just as xenophobia and ‘we are different.’ There is nothing to fight against, just suppressing the consequences has to suffice.”

“The way things are now, I experience, for example, that ‘Jew’ is a widespread cuss word in Copenhagen. As a Jew who has grown up in Denmark, I have always avoided showing/telling people I am a Jew.”

“For the past 12 years, anti-Semitism has no longer been a taboo in Germany, and so it occurs more often—verbally and physically, on German streets and in social media.”

“I can’t be discriminated against [here in Poland]if no one knows that I am a Jewish. I answer a direct question about my nationality with a lie.”

“At work and in the media and social media, anti-Semitism [in France]is a daily and unrepressed occurrence.”

There is an air of resignation that hangs over these comments - a sense that hostility towards Jews is something that must be managed, rather than defeated. The Austrian respondent quoted above wittily described anti-Semitism in his country as akin to a schnitzel, an indelible part of that country’s social and cultural fabric that can produce deadly consequences if we are not sufficiently careful. The respondents in Denmark and Poland adopted a similar stance, effectively arguing that the most efficient way of avoiding anti-Semitic harassment was not to admit to being Jewish in the first place.

As difficult as these quotes are to read, they are nonetheless in keeping with the statistical data presented in the E.U. survey of European Jews. A full of 85 percent of respondents across the continent agreed that anti-Semitism was a “problem,” with a plurality describing it as a “big problem.” As the European Union observed in the summary accompanying the report, “hundreds of respondents personally experienced an anti-Semitic physical attack in the 12 months preceding the survey. More than one in four (28%) of all respondents experienced anti-Semitic harassment at least once during that period. Those who wear, carry or display items in public that could identify them as Jewish are subject to more anti-Semitic harassment (37%) than those who do not (21%).”

read more

Austria: Two youths attack Jewish teen wearing Star of David ring

Via The Jerusalem Post:

Two teenagers attacked a 16-year-old Jewish boy in the Austrian city of Gratz before he was able to get away.

The victim was treated in a local hospital for cuts and bruises to his face. Police are searching for the assailants.

According to a report from the Gratz Jewish community, the victim was wearing a ring decorated with a Star of David when he was accosted March 4 on the street near a high school by the two teens, who demanded to know if he was Jewish. When he answered that he was, the boys told him to “piss off.” Then one of the boys slapped and punched him in the face while calling him a “shit Jew.”

In a statement Elie Rosen, head of the Jewish community in Gratz, said local schools need help in addressing antisemitism and should not only be teaching about the Holocaust but about the history of the Middle East conflict.

“The fact is, the word ‘Jew’ is used as an insult in schoolyards,” the statement read in part. “We have to help schools prepare to take on this problem.”

read more

Europe: The “Deal of the Century” and Israel’s European challenge

Via The Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (Dr. Emmanuel Navon):

[…] While Israel should secure US support for the deal's partial implementation in the absence of negotiations, it must also pre-empt and mitigate the opposition of the European Union and of the United Kingdom. This must be done not only by neutralizing unanimous decisions from the EU's foreign affairs council thanks to the votes of European governments sympathetic to Israel, but also by convincing European leaders and opinion-makers that the "deal of the century" is not, in fact, inconsistent with international law and with the two-state solution.  

Early European reactions to the deal provide an indication on how and where Israel should invest its diplomatic efforts. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell issued a statement in which he claimed that the Trump plan "departs from … internationally agreed parameters" and warned that Israeli annexations in the West Bank would "not pass unchallenged." France said it welcomed President Trump’s efforts, would “study” his plan, and reiterated its commitment to a two-state solution and to international law. The British government welcomed the Trump plan and called it “a serious proposal,” encouraging Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate on its basis and insisting that it was for them to determine if the plan suits their aspirations and concerns. Germany was more lukewarm, welcoming on the one hand the plan’s endorsement of a two-state solution but questioning on the other hand the plan’s compatibility with international law. Poland said it saw in the plan a “valuable basis” for future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and Hungary vaguely said that it supports “all efforts” aimed at solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Thanks to the votes of Italy, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, the EU's foreign affairs council was unable to pass a resolution that was meant to criticize the Trump plan and to warn Israel not to proceed with annexations in the West Bank. Israel's "divide-and-rule" tactic among EU members was successful once again. But Israel must also influence European public opinions and decision-makers of the plan's advantages and of its consistency with international law.

Europe's leading opinion-makers and mainstream media are mostly hostile to the Trump plan. Britain offers a typical example: while the British government was forthcoming, most British newspapers are aghast. The Economist asserted that the plan "will not bring peace" and "may spell the end of the two-state solution." A Guardian columnist wrote that the deal must be rejected because it allegedly goes against "countless UN resolutions, the Oslo accords of 1993, the Arab peace initiative of 2002 and the fundamental idea that Palestinians, like Israelis, have the inalienable right to self-determination."

read more

EU statement against Trump peace plan blocked by several countries

Via European Jewish Press (EJP):

At least six European member states on Tuesday opposed a push by E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell for a joint resolution by the 27 members states of the E.U. Foreign Affairs Council criticizing the Trump peace plan and warning Israel against annexing parts of the West Bank.  

Italy, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and at least two other unnamed nations opposed the resolution following intense lobbying efforts by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, according to Israeli media reports. Israel reportedly argued that the proposed resolution was one-sided and encouraged the Palestinians to avoid negotiations.  

Apparently outraged by the failure, Borrell issued his own independent statement on Tuesday, warning that the European Union is committed to a two-state solution featuring “an independent, democratic, contiguous, sovereign and viable state of Palestine,” and that the US deal “departs from these internationally agreed parameters.”  

“Steps towards annexation, if implemented, could not pass unchallenged,” he added.  

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat took to Twitter to criticize the E.U. foreign policy chief’s “threatening language towards Israel.”  

“The fact that the High Rep of the EU, Josep Borrel [sic], chose to use threatening language towards Israel, so shortly after he assumed office & only hours after his meetings in Iran, is regrettable &, to say the least, odd,” said Haiat. “Pursuing such policies & conduct is the best way to ensure that the EU’s role in any process will be minimized.”

Austria: Turkish man beats Jews in front of kosher shop in Vienna

Via Arutz Sheva 7:

Several Jews were physically assaulted in Vienna on Thursday outside of a kosher restaurant. The incident occurred in Vienna’s Leopoldstadt district Thursday morning, on Tabor Street.

According to Austrian media outlets, a 24-year-old Austrian man of Turkish origin attacked three Jewish men in front of a kosher restaurant and near a synagogue.

Witnesses say the assailant jumped one of the victims, knocking him to the ground. The suspect then began to beat the victims.

“I had just walked out of the synagogue,” one victim, Daniel, told Heute, “and I had my kippah and Tefillin [phylacteries] on, so I was easily recognizable as a Jew. He came at me from behind while I was on my phone and didn’t see him. He jumped me from behind.”

Daniel says he suffered injuries to his hip, but was thankful the attacker was not armed. “I’m glad he didn’t have a knife with him.”

read more

Austria: State May Require Jews to Register to Buy Kosher Meat

Via Haaretz:

A regional politician in Austria defended a plan to limit access to kosher meat, conditioning its sale on permits that would be individually issued to observant Jews.

The Wiener Zeitung daily reported Tuesday about the draft decree in the state of Lower Austria, one of nine states that make up the federal Republic of Austria. Gottfried Waldhäusl, the cabinet minister in the state government of Lower Austria who is in charge of animal welfare and several other portfolios, defended the plan as necessary “from an animal welfare point of view.”

Oskar Deutsch, the president of the Jewish Community in Vienna, warned that, in practice, the plan would require compiling a list of Jews, which he called “like a negative Aryan clause,” referencing racist laws passed by Nazi Germany and implemented in Austria after its merger with Germany in 1938. 

read more

Austria: Holocaust memorial in Vienna defaced

Via reader:

There is a small memorial exhibit at the subway station Herminengasse in Vienna, for the Jews rounded up and sent to death and concentration camps during the Holocaust. Although this exhibit only opened in October 2017, it already has been defaced twice, this time with "gaza" spray-painted in blue. Workers tried to wash it off but it is still quite visible.

Photos of the recent defacement (the squiggly black lines are part of the original exhibit):

Austria: Holocaust denier Gerd Honsik has died

Via The Times of Israel:

Gerd Honsik, an Austrian author who was considered a leading ideologue in Europe’s neo-Nazi movement, has died at 76.

The Austria Press Agency reported Honsik died Saturday at his home in Hungary. APA cited “multiple independent sources” in its report Monday. (...)

He published a book titled “Hitler Innocent?” in which he attempted to justify some of the Third Reich’s crimes during World War II. He evaded most of his prison sentences over the years by fleeing Austria and living in other European countries, including Spain. He was arrested in 2007 in Malaga and extradited to Austria for a 1992 conviction, after Madrid had refused to hand him in for 15 years because Holocaust denial wasn’t illegal in that country.

During trial, Honsik claimed he merely “rejected the textbook wisdom that demonizes National Socialism” and said he denies the existence of the gas chambers only when he “didn’t verify” the facts himself. Honsik, who sometimes used the pseudonym Endsik — alluding to the Nazi quest for final victory or “Endsieg”— was last released in 2011 having served a prison term in Spain for claiming that the Holocaust was a fabrication.

read more

Austria Investigates Fraternity's Nazi Songbook

Via Haaretz:

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Wednesday prosecutors are investigating a student fraternity whose songbook contains Nazi lyrics.

Kurz wrote on Twitter that there should be "zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, racism or praising Nazi tyranny."

His comments come after a report revealed a Freedom Party candidate for state office, Udo Landbauer, was a member of the fraternity with the songbook. Many have raised concerns about Kurz's decision to form a new coalition government with the nationalist, anti-migrant Freedom Party.

The book contains the line "step on the gas, you old Germans, we will reach seven million" — an apparent reference to the 6 million Jews the Nazis killed in the Holocaust. 

read more

Austria: New FM denies having compared Zionism with Nazism

Via The Times of Israel:

Zionism cannot be equated with Nazism, Austria’s new foreign minister said, rejecting accusations that she had made such a comparison in the past.

In an in-depth interview with The Times of Israel, Karin Kneissl defended the far-right Freedom Party, saying neither its leader Heinz-Christian Strache nor its other members have anti-Semitic inclinations. (...)  

When she was appointed in December, the 52-year-old Vienna native made headlines in Israel for having described early Zionism in one of her books as a “blood-and-soil ideology based on German nationalism.”

The quote, from her 2014 book “My Middle East,” led some observers to believe that she linked Zionism with Nazism.

“Some journalists only pointed out one line of the book without explaining the content,” she told The Times of Israel. “What’s important today is that myself and the new Austrian government are and remain committed to Israel as a Jewish state and to a two-state-solution, where Israel and Palestine live side by side, in peace and prosperity.”

read more

Austria: Vienna police charge 3 men for waving Israeli flag at rally

Via Jerusalem Post:

The Vienna police are pursuing criminal charges against three pro-Israel activists for waving an Israeli flag in protest of antisemitic slogans at a demonstration against Jerusalem having been recognized by the US as the capital of the Jewish state.

The police are seeking a €100 fine or two days in jail for the display of Israel-support at the December 8 anti-Israel rally near the US Embassy in Austria’s capital.

The criminal notice, dated January 3, states that the activists “showed an Israeli flag at a rally in an extremely provocative way and manner that was visible for participants at the rally and thereby produced considerable offense and provocation among the Palestinian protesters.”

The German-language edition of the news site Vice first reported on Tuesday on the penalties against the three men and conducted an interview with one of the pro-Israel protesters.

“My mother is Israeli, her family [members] are refugees from Iraq and Libya,” the pro-Israel protester said. “An Arab-speaking friend from Israel was able to translate some of the slogans yelled [at the rally], for example, the Arab battle cry to massacre Jews: ‘Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning,’ and... ‘Death to Israel.’”

The Arabic cry references an ancient Muslim attack on Jews in the town of Khaybar in what is now Saudi Arabia, killing many and looting their homes. The provocative chant is frequently used when attacking Jews and Israelis, and was chanted on the Mavi Marmara Gaza flotilla ship in May 2010.

The activist, who was given the name Matthias  F. by Vice to ostensibly protect his privacy, said he heard other chants of “Intifada” and “Child-murder Israel” at the rally that was attended by hundreds of anti-Israel protesters.

He added that, “We were shocked by these slogans and did not want to leave the slogans unchallenged. Antisemitism and hate of Israel should not be tolerated.”

read more

Europe: Even in Left-Wing European circles, BDS is linked to anti-Semitism

Via Commentary Magazine (Evelyn Gordon):

BDS activists are presumably celebrating the UN Human Rights Council’s decision to warn off companies that do business with Israelis in the West Bank. I’d advise them to enjoy their temporary victory while they can. As several recent events make clear, they’re losing badly outside the UN. And they’re losing for one simple reason: People worldwide are gradually coming to understand that the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement isn’t “anti-occupation,” it’s anti-Semitic.

Last Friday, for instance, Austria’s national student union passed a motion denouncing BDS as anti-Semitic and saying the movement recalls the Nazis’ economic boycott of Jewish businesses. The resolution also said BDS activists shouldn’t be given funding or venues in which to promote its campaign. The motion, which was pushed in particular by a student group called GRAS (Greens and Alternative Students), passed almost unanimously, with one abstention and no votes against.

The previous week, the Green Party in the German state of Bavaria passed a resolution denouncing BDS as “anti-Semitic, hostile to Israel, reactionary and anti-enlightenment,” adding that it “reproduces the National Socialist slogan, ‘Don’t buy from Jews!’” The resolution, introduced by the party’s youth wing, also urged the national Green Party not to cooperate with BDS. Given that some prominent Green Party members have actively promoted anti-Israel boycotts, this uncompromising denunciation effectively amounts to a grassroots revolt.

And this week, the Left Party in Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, decided not to consider a motion urging Israel “to end the occupation and the Gaza blockade” and demanded the European Union end its Association Agreement with Israel due to the blockade and Israel’s West Bank security fence. Given that the Left Party (Die Linke in German) is easily the German party most hostile to Israel, this development is surprising.

The party offered no explanation when it announced the decision on its Twitter account, but Jerusalem Post reporter Benjamin Weinthal suggested it might be related to what Martina Renner, a Left Party member of parliament, said about the resolution earlier this month. The “motion sounds like it was written from Israel boycott groups,” Renner said. “From this the executive board of @dielinke clearly distances itself.” Renner’s statement left no room for doubt: Even the Left Party wants nothing to do with BDS and anti-Israel boycotts.

All these examples have something in common: The anti-BDS push is coming precisely from the groups that are normally least sympathetic to Israel–leftists and young people. In other words, BDS is losing not just among groups that could be expected to oppose it, like the U.S. Congress, but among the very demographic that ought to be its principal bastion of support.

Even though large swaths of polite society are now perfectly comfortable with anti-Semitism as long as they can tell themselves it’s just “anti-Zionism” or “fighting the occupation,” open avowals of anti-Semitism are still taboo. Once stripped of the comforting pretense that it’s not anti-Semitic, BDS will be finished. And groups like the Austrian student union and the Bavarian Green Party are now tearing that pretense to shreds.

read more

Austria's election winner Sebastian Kurz has a warm place in his heart for Israel

 Via Israel Hayom:

Sebastian Kurz

(...) Less than 24 hours after Kurz's sweeping win, as he began preparing for his new job as the youngest world leader, he granted Israel Hayom an exclusive interview, making a point of showing he has a warm place in his heart for the Jewish state. 

Kurz made it clear that denouncing anti-Semitism would be a "clear precondition" for his future coalition partners, including his most likely partner, the far-right Freedom Party of Austria. (...)

Kurz also said he supports the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, which was negotiated in his country's capital, Vienna. He stressed that "we cannot be naive" about the Islamic republic's conduct. 

Q. Congratulations on your victory and thank you for finding the time to answer our questions on such a busy day. How does it feel to become the youngest chancellor in Austria's history?

"I'm glad and overwhelmed by the good electoral results for our political movement, the new People's Party. We have achieved historic success. The voters have conferred a very large responsibility on us and I would be honored to serve the Austrian citizens as the head of the next government." 

Q. Does being so young make it easier for you to take responsibility for Austria's history during World War II?

"My visits to Yad Vashem [Israel's Holocaust memorial], as well as my many meetings with Holocaust survivors, were deeply moving for me. I have always been very clear that we – and that very much includes the new Austrian generation – shall never forget the Holocaust and the atrocities committed during World War II. Austria has to face up to its own history, and that includes the dark sides of it. Let me be very clear: A Europe without Jews is not Europe anymore. I am therefore very glad that we have a vibrant – small, but very vibrant - Jewish community in Austria. Also, Austria enjoys excellent relations with the State of Israel – this is a fact that is very important for me." 

Q. During the campaign, your close contacts with the Austrian Jewish community and Israel were used by certain sides to try to harm your chances of winning. Was that anti-Semitic?

"I cannot speak for other parties. But the election results clearly show that Austrians do not reward any kind of smear campaigns or dirty campaigning tricks. Let me also be clear that we must continue to pursue a policy of zero tolerance for any form of anti-Semitism in Austria as well as in Europe." 

Q. The campaign was shadowed by the "Silberstein scandal," in which Israeli adviser Tal Silberstein was accused of misconduct by promoting allegedly racist propaganda. Will this affair influence future contacts between Austria and Israel?

"No, it will not. It is of the utmost importance for me that Austria and Israel continue to intensify our already close bilateral relations. I am glad that during my time as foreign minister our bilateral relations have further improved and grown ever stronger. Let me just give you one figure here: Our bilateral trade grew by 32.5% during the first half of 2017 – that tells you something about the growing strength of our relationship. Also, we have put a focus and an intensified exchange between our young generations. (A new Working Holiday Program that I have signed with PM Netanyahu allows for young Israelis and Austrians for the first time to work in each other's country – and this opportunity is taken up with great enthusiasm.) If I become the next chancellor of Austria, I will strive to further intensify our close bilateral relations."

read more

Austria: Students reject 'antisemitic' boycott Israel campaign

Via Jerusalem Post:

The Austrian National Union of Students passed on Friday a motion against BDS, saying that the boycott movement targeting Israel is antisemitic, and that its demands recall the Nazis’ economic war against Jewish businesses.

It is believed to be the first time an Austrian national student union has passed such a resolution.

The Austrian Jewish students group announced on its Facebook page: “We are very happy to announce that the Austrian Students Union is the first national student union to officially pass a resolution denouncing BDS and also passing a version of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance – IHRA definition of antisemitism. The resolution states BDS to be an antisemitic campaign and calls not to give it any space or supporting funds.

“This has been a big step in the fight against antisemitism, and we are very happy that after our lobbying effort almost all factions have supported the motion.

“A special thanks to the GRAS Greens and Alternative Students and their continuing support in the fight against all antisemitism.”

read more

Austria and Germany: Iranian mosques stoke genocidal antisemitism against Israel

Via The Jerusalem Post (Benjamin Weinthal):

Iranian regime-controlled mosques in Vienna and Hamburg stoke genocidal antisemitism against Israel, while the Imam Ali mosque in the Austrian capital propagates discrimination against women, according to a government report and statements.

The Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF) said last week, in its report probing 16 mosques that in the Iranian regime-controlled Imam Ali mosque, that “the mosque is entirely on the same line as Iran’s state doctrine. Israel is not, regardless of its boundaries, recognized.
The goal is the destruction of the Jewish state.”

In one of the prayer services observed at the Imam Ali mosque in February, the cleric publicized a conference for the support of the Palestinians under the motto: “Palestine is the home of the Palestinians.”

The imam complained during the service that the Islamic world was so occupied with its own problems that it had lost sight of the Palestinians and “negotiates with the ruthless usurper.” While Israel was not mentioned by name, the pejorative descriptions are believed to have targeted the Jewish state. 

read more

Austria: Antisemitic remarks by Freedom Party's foreign policy spokesperson

Via Jewish News:

The Jewish Community Vienna (IKG) has called on the FPÖ (Freedom Party) to expel its foreign policy spokesperson, Johannes Hübner, from the party. The request refers to likely anti-Semitic remarks made by Hübner during a right-wing convention in Thuringia in June 2016, as reported by Der Standard on Wednesday.

“If the FPÖ is serious about having bid farewell to anti-Semitism, suspending Hübner would be imperative,” IKG – President Oskar Deutsch told Der Standard. The FPÖ would “remain among the sticks in the mud” should the party not react to Hübner’s comments or even defend them.”

For Federal Chancellor Christian Kern, too, the “anti-Semitic comments” are “absolutely unacceptable.” Hübner has mentioned him as the Friedrich Torberg awardee of the Jewish Community; Kern asserted that he is “proud” of this award.

Hübner, who works as an attorney in Vienna, used a 1930s denigration of the constitutional scholar Hans Kelsen as “Hans Kohn” – a widespread Jewish family name –in front of an audience.

Meanwhile, Hübner himself has addressed the accusations during a conversation with Der Standard. While he confirms to have made the statement, he cannot comment on its “specific historic background.” By all means, he does “absolutely not see any anti-Semitic background” regarding the statement. Asked about why his allusion did cause laughter in the audience, Hübner said that he “cannot remember.”

Deutsch rejects Hübner’s justifications: “those are stereotypes like we have formerly seen in Der Stürmer.” The IKG is now considering introducing a criminal exposition of the facts. “We are currently examining this option.”

read more