Former Synagogue in St. Pölten in New Splendor

ORF (Austrian Public Broadcasting), April 17, 2024
German original: https://religion.orf.at/stories/3224647/

After extensive renovation and adaptation into a cultural center, the former synagogue in St. Pölten presents itself in new splendor. The Art Nouveau building, built in 1913, opens its doors at the weekend.

The synagogue was built by the architects Theodor Schreier and Viktor Postelberg. Admission to the open days, from Friday to Sunday, is free. Exhibitions, concerts and an educational program will be on offer until 10 November. The synagogue, which was severely damaged during the National Socialist pogroms in November 1938, was restituted by the City of St. Pölten to the Jewish Community of Vienna in 1954 as the legal successor to the Jewish community of St. Pölten, which had been wiped out.

The building became increasingly dilapidated in the following years, but demolition - as happened in Krems - was prevented. The city, state and federal government made it possible to carry out an initial restoration from 1980 to 1984. As part of the "Kultur St. Pölten 2024" project, a new two-year renovation was carried out and a new usage concept was drawn up based on the scientific findings of the Institute for Austrian Jewish History, which is located in the former cantor's house.

"A place of family history"

The director of the Institute for Jewish History Austria, Martha Keil, has curated a vivid permanent exhibition entitled "The Synagogue and its Community" in the women's gallery. The exhibition not only contains a number of objects, photos and documents as well as interviews with survivors at media stations, but also highlights the sometimes insensitive renovation work carried out in the 1980s. In addition, one of the 321 Shoah victims from St. Pölten is commemorated every month.

From May 17, there will also be a special exhibition entitled "Things move. Objects and their Jewish stories". In June, Johann Kneihs will curate "Jewish Weekends", a festival for Jewish culture. Keil hopes that the former synagogue will also become a "place of family history and a meeting place for regular visits" outside of events. The next follow-up meeting is planned for September 2024. For example, there is contact with pianist Irene Schreier Scott, 94-year-old granddaughter of Theodor Schreier, who perished in Theresienstadt in 1943, and her daughter and granddaughter.

Historic building

A special feature is the installation placed in the room by Johann Moser in the form of a beam of light. On the one hand, it is a reminder of the building's history of violence, and on the other, it symbolically illuminates a trace of survival.

The National Fund of the Republic of Austria, the Federal Monuments Office, the Province of Lower Austria and the City of St. Pölten have jointly acquired 4.6 million euros for the restoration and adaptation of the building. The structural measures, such as a new entrance area and barrier-free access thanks to the addition of a lift, were carried out by the architectural firm Wolfgang Pfoser. An inventory contract between the Jewish Community of Vienna as the owner and NÖ Museum Betriebs Gmbh regulates the long-term use of the building.

If You Want Citizenship, You Have to Visit a Concentration Camp Memorial

Kurier, April 3, 2024
German original: https://kurier.at/chronik/oesterreich/mikl-leitner-landeshauptleutekonferenz-st-poelten-oevp/402842788

At their conference in St. Pölten on Wednesday, the provincial governors passed resolutions on housing, voluntary work and the fight against anti-Semitism. They are pushing for a further relaxation of lending rules.

In addition, the federal states want to be able to intervene in housing demand through a vacancy tax. Lower Austria's Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner (ÖVP) called for insurance cover for informal volunteering.

The federal states would like to have more control over "public housing". According to Carinthia's governor Peter Kaiser (SPÖ), a resolution passed by the provincial conference called for the introduction of a vacancy tax. This should be possible in a volume that could also have a controlling effect.

"Will not let up"

When it comes to property, Mikl-Leitner, who is currently chairing the LH Conference, believes that the federal government's housing package and the first relaxation of the KIM ordinance have already achieved a great deal. The state representatives have agreed "not to let up" until the Financial Market Authority abolishes the lending guidelines.

"We do not want to and will not accept the rise in anti-Semitism," emphasized Mikl-Leitner. On the one hand, all pupils should visit a concentration camp memorial or a Jewish museum in Austria at least once. On the other hand, such a visit should also become part of the integration or naturalization process, said the Governor. "Anti-Semitism has no place in our country - regardless of whether it comes from the right, the left or Muslims," she stated.

In terms of volunteering, the LH Conference unanimously spoke out in favor of nationwide insurance cover for informal volunteering. Mikl-Leitner announced that Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) would be invited to negotiate with the federal states on the joint financing of such a project. There is currently no or no suitable protection for neighborhood help.

The decision on wolves was also unanimous. The protection status of the animal should be lowered, demanded Kaiser. This was also proposed by the EU Commission. A joint statement by the federal states was launched in February.

Demands for less bureaucracy

Mikl-Leitner called on Europe to reduce bureaucracy in order to maintain competitiveness. The European Union should take care of the big issues and withdraw from those areas that can be better regulated in the regions, explained the Governor. Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP), Governor of Upper Austria, also believes that a reduction in bureaucracy is "highly urgent". He also brought sunset legislation into play, whereby laws expire if they are not extended.

Renewable energies were also a topic at the conference. Here, the provincial governors are pushing for an acceleration law so that plants can be built as quickly as possible, said Stelzer.

Emergency Arrest in the Classroom: a School Revisits its Nazi History

Der Standard, March 28, 2024
German original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000211342/not-arrest-im-klassenzimmer-eine-schule-arbeitet-ihre-ns-geschichte-neu-auf

Gudrun Springer

A school in Vienna's Karajangasse became a prison in 1938. The brutality there was long underexposed. Now the school wants to modernize its memorial.

It was a beautiful early summer afternoon. The doorbell rang at an apartment in Karl-Marx-Hof. 13-year-old George Czuczka opened the door. A policeman stood in front of him and asked for his father, who came in. The inspector told him he was under arrest. "Should I take my coat with me?" asked Fritz Czuczka. The officer said yes and advised him to take his "toothbrush" with him, George recalls. "The next time we heard from my father was when he was in the collection camp in Vienna, in the 20th district in Karajangasse."

George Czuczka's account dates back to 2008, when he was interviewed for the Austrian Heritage Archive, a collection of interviews with people who emigrated during the Nazi era. The "collection camp" mentioned by Fritz Czuczka was a temporary prison set up by the National Socialists when the conventional prisons were bursting at the seams.

A memorial site since the 1980s

The so-called Not-Arrest in Karajangasse was located in a disused elementary school, the premises of which now belong to the Gymnasium am Augarten. The grammar school set up a memorial early on with general information about the Nazi era and events at the former elementary school. Now the school wants to revise the exhibition.

The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) found out about the request by chance. The historian Philipp Rohrbach works there and has been researching emergency remains in Vienna for years. He is now helping the school to modernize the exhibition. Rohrbach finds the project remarkable in that it is a "bottom-up project", i.e. it was created through the commitment of individuals and not realized according to plans "from above".

Several emergency shelters in Vienna

There were also emergency detention centers in Vienna, for example in the Sofiensäle, in Pramergasse and in the former Kenyongasse convent school - Rohrbach and historian Regina Fritz were already intensively involved in this in 2011. The topic still occupies both of them today. There were also shootings in Kenyongasse. The emergency detention center in Karajangasse is known to have been the scene of severe abuse and threats of executions.

A particularly large number of people were imprisoned after the Anschluss in the spring of 1938, when a large wave of arrests of political opponents and Jews took place. A further wave of arrests, then of Jewish people in particular, took place at the time of the November pogrom.

Little noticed for a long time

To this day, relatively little attention has been paid to the provisional prisons of that time. "There is no place dedicated to the emergency detention centers," says Rohrbach. "The radical nature of the National Socialist policy of persecution and extermination in the years that followed has probably pushed research into the brutality that took place in these buildings into the background."

There has been a memorial in the basement of the current Gymnasium am Augarten, where the elementary school used to be, since 1988. The fact that it is down there is somewhat misleading for visitors, as no one was imprisoned down there. Rooms on the upper floors, including classrooms, were used as prisons, as can be seen in the memoirs of Erich Katz, a Jewish student who was sent to the emergency detention center in Karajangasse as a result of the November pogrom. At this time, "the brutality there had reached its peak", says Rohrbach.

Detainees were desperate

Hundreds of them were crammed into a classroom without desks, Katz describes. There was "no place to sleep, no mattress, nothing". "As it was a former school building, there were no bars on the windows. In desperation, some prisoners threw themselves from the windows of the upper floor into the courtyard to commit suicide," Katz describes. The next morning, a policeman ordered every tenth prisoner to step forward. "Then came his threatening voice: 'If one more of you Jews jumps from the windows to commit suicide, every tenth person will be shot. And anyone who comes near a window will get a bullet."

Katz was transferred from Karajangasse to the Elisabethpromenade police prison ("die Liesl"), where Gestapo officers took personal details, took the prisoners' belongings and where he was repeatedly beaten and kicked in the boots. They were then transported to the Westbahnhof and from there to Dachau. Katz wrote about this: "The suffering we were subjected to can hardly be described in words."

In 1999, the memorial was officially opened in the school in Karajangasse. It has been open to the public ever since, currently on Thursdays (school days only) from 4 to 8 pm. The posters, which are dedicated to the Nazi era and knowledge about the emergency detention within the walls of the building, were designed as a school project by teacher Michael Zahradnik and pupils back in 1988. The posters were later made more durable, but their content corresponds to the originals. For example, they show who was among the prisoners in Karajangasse - one of them was called Bruno Kreisky.

Later, a committed teacher started a letter project with former pupils who had been expelled from the grammar school during the Nazi era. Copies of the letters are available in the exhibition as a thick book. Additions to the exhibition were repeatedly realized as school projects, for example researching how many pupils were murdered by the Nazi regime.

Archive at school?

However, the exhibition is no longer up to date. "The memorial is no longer up to date - both in terms of content and in terms of how knowledge is conveyed today," says Sarah Leitgeb, director of the memorial and teacher at the Augarten grammar school. For example, no sources are cited, and much of the content could be read by pupils today on the internet instead of in damp, cold cellar rooms, where electronic devices would also quickly break. "The collection of information could grow and be continuously added to on site," says Rohrbach. For example, an archive could be set up in the school, is one of the ideas. It would also meet the wishes of relatives who would like to know more about what happened to their ancestors at the site.

George Czuczka's father, the subject of this article, only wrote a short letter from the emergency detention center. The son later estimated that his family did not hear from him for two or three weeks. The next letter came from Dachau concentration camp. But the father was lucky: he was released again. The family fled to the USA in 1939. Son George still lives there. (Gudrun Springer, 28.3.2024)

Sobotka: "We must prevent Jews from packing their bags again"

Der Standard, March 21, 2024
German original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000212719/sobotka-muessen-verhindern-dass-juedinnen-und-juden-wieder-koffer-packen

The Antisemitism exhibition in Parliament has been reopened. National Council President Sobotka warns of a new climate of fear for Jews.

His grandfather was not just a follower. He was an SA leader. And an avowed National Socialist at a time when not many people professed this ideology. Coming to terms with his own family history was not easy at first, says National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP). But once the initial fear of confrontation has been overcome, it opens up the potential for liberating processes. "And the fight against Antisemitism is not the job of Jews," says Sobotka. "It is our task."

The Antisemitism exhibition in the parliamentary library, which was reopened on Tuesday, is intended to make a contribution to this. The exhibition has been on display since the reopening of the parliament building last year. However, the original design did not fulfill its purpose sufficiently, says the President of Parliament. Too text-heavy, too unwieldy, no longer up-to-date enough. It was therefore decided to revise the entire exhibition, make it more interactive and add digital elements such as screens and videos. This is intended to appeal more specifically to young people.

Cooperation with Yad Vashem

In the newly opened exhibition entitled "Tacheles reden. Antisemitism - A Danger to Democracy" also includes key events from recent history such as the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 or the Antisemitic depictions at the Documenta 2022 in Kassel. However, Jewish life in Austria is now also being presented more intensively - and with a focus on its diversity. In addition to the Jewish Community, the German Antisemitism researcher Monika Schwarz-Friesel and the Jewish scholar Armin Lange were involved in the concept development. There were also regular exchanges with the Israeli Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem.

The exhibition is accessible to all visitors to the Hohes Haus am Ring. It will also form the basis for workshops at the parliament's democracy workshop. "Antisemitism is always anti-democratic," Sobotka told journalists on Wednesday evening. This is another reason why it is the task of parliament to fight against it.

Dealing honestly with Austria's history

The exhibition covers a wide range of topics, from the origins of Antisemitism in the Bible and its excesses in the Middle Ages to National Socialism and its lack of reappraisal in post-war Austria to current events. "The origins of hostility towards Jews lie in Christianity," said Sobotka during the tour of the exhibition.

The persistent attempts in the Second Republic to cover up the Holocaust and the crimes of the Nazi era instead of coming to terms with them are also dealt with in detail and honestly in the exhibition, as are the decades-long attempts to portray Austria exclusively as the "first victim" of National Socialism. A self-critical perspective that was anything but a matter of course for a long time, even in Sobotka's own party. Is it today? "Even in the Waldheim era, a lot has not yet been dealt with," said Sobotka. In general, research into how the Nazi era was dealt with from the 1950s onwards is still a very rewarding field - for university students, for example.

Israel as a "promise of security"

Israel is also a promise of security for Jews worldwide, said Sobotka. One for which Germany and Austria had a special responsibility due to their history. In his solidarity with Israel, however, he made a clear distinction between the state and the Netanyahu government, emphasized the President of the National Council. "They don't make it easy."

Many people from Jewish communities, including in Austria, are now reporting that they have packed their bags again so that they can leave the country quickly in an emergency. Despite the current situation and the new war in the Middle East, Israel is still a potential exit scenario for many. Preventing Jews in Europe from having to live in fear of attacks and assaults again is the task of the majority society, said Sobotka. "We must prevent Jews from packing their bags again." (Martin Tschiderer, 21.3.2024)

Info:

The exhibition "Tacheles reden" is freely accessible during parliamentary opening hours (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Prior online registration on the website is recommended: www.besuchen.parlament.gv.at

Public Prosecutor's Office Investigates Viennese Imam for Incitement to Hatred

Der Standard, March 19, 2024
German original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000212545/staatsanwaltschaft-ermittelt-gegen-wiener-imam-wegen-verhetzung

The man resigned in mid-February following anti-Semitic Facebook postings. A house search was carried out at his address on Monday.

Vienna - The Vienna public prosecutor's office is now officially investigating an imam for incitement to hatred, who resigned from his position in mid-February following several antisemitic Facebook posts. This was confirmed by authority spokesperson Nina Bussek. Accordingly, proceedings were initiated following a detailed examination of the text posts. Bussek also announced that a house search was carried out at the man's address last Monday. The "Kurier" first reported on the house search.

For the time being, there was no information on what was seized. The corresponding report or the evaluation is not yet available, the public prosecutor's office said Wednesday afternoon in response to an APA inquiry.

The imam of the Assalam mosque at the Schöpfwerk in Vienna-Meidling had come to the attention of the prosecution authorities with antisemitic remarks. "Oh Allah, defeat the Jews and support the Mujaheddin who are fighting for Allah in Palestine", he posted on Facebook. He also said "Murder flows in their veins, they are the Jews! A despicable people, criminals, bloodthirsty people ... They only understand the language of blood and murder" and "Allah, (...) don't let any of them (meaning: Jews, note) live". The Facebook profile can no longer be found.

Islamic religious community imposes ban on activity

After the postings became known, the Islamic Religious Community (IGGÖ) described his statements as an "unacceptable reaction to the Middle East conflict" and imposed an activity ban on him. A spokeswoman for the IGGÖ told APA on Wednesday that this ban would remain in place until revoked, irrespective of the criminal investigation. Like all other Muslims in Austria, he remains a simple member of the IGGÖ. The IGGÖ does not recognize excommunication per se, the possibility of exclusion only exists in the case of a legally binding conviction with a prison sentence of more than one year, the spokesperson said.

The Assalam Mosque is largely frequented by people with Egyptian roots. It has been part of the IGGÖ since 2016. In an audit, the IGGÖ was unable to identify any problematic content in the sermons given there, but emphasized "that he has responsibility for his behaviour on social media". (APA, red, 20.3.2024)

Tribute to Nazi Eyewitness Lucia Heilman

ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation), January 15, 2024
German original: https://wien.orf.at/stories/3240746/

Lucia Heilman, now 94, survived the Nazi era in Vienna as a Jewish child. She still talks about this in schools. On Monday, she was honored with the state's Golden Medal of Merit at Vienna City Hall.

Heilman was born Lucia Johanna Treister in Vienna in 1929 and grew up in Alsergrund. In 1938, Lucia was expelled from school due to her Jewish background. In 1941, after her grandfather had already been deported to Buchenwald in 1939, a close friend of her father's hid Lucia and her mother in his workshop in Mollardgasse. After a bomb hit, they spent almost six months in a musty, dark cellar in Gumpendorfer Straße. Heilman still remembers the formative feeling of fear today.

"The fear, the uninterrupted fear that lasted day and night. The fear that the doorbell would ring, that someone would come and take me and my mother to Buchenwald or another concentration camp," Heilman told "Wien heute."

"I cannot forgive"

Family members and acquaintances were murdered during the war. But some of the people in Vienna remained the same after the end of the war, she says: "After the war, my mother sent me to fetch milk. I came into the store and they said I don't sell milk to Jews."

Nevertheless, Heilman stayed in Vienna, graduated from high school and studied medicine in Vienna. She became a doctor, married and raised two daughters. She first spoke about her survival as a "submarine" in Vienna in connection with Israeli photographer Alisa Douer's film project "Whoever saves a life saves the whole world" (1993). She has been active as a contemporary witness ever since. She continues to work against forgetting Nazi crimes, but she does not forgive: "No, I can't forgive."

"Sad" about the resurgence of antisemitism

She tells her story to children and young people in schools. "They should only know, and what they do with their knowledge is up to them," said Heilman. When asked how she feels about the fact that anti-Semitism is resurfacing today, she says: "I'm sad, sad that people haven't moved a millimeter in human terms."

In the 2013/2014 season, Heilman took part in the production of "The Last Witnesses" at Vienna's Burgtheater, and in 2017 she was a speaker at the Festival of Joy. Her story and that of her rescuer Reinhold Duschka is written down in the book "Am Seil - Eine Heldengeschichte" by Erich Hackl.

"You have honored this city"

"In her later life, Lucia Heilman worked tirelessly as a bridge builder and admonisher against anti-Semitism and racism," emphasized City Councillor for Culture Veronica Kaup-Hasler (SPÖ). "It is not the city of Vienna that is honoring her, but you have honored this city with your work, whether as a doctor or as a contemporary witness. Especially now, when we have to lament the flare-up of anti-Semitism and xenophobia all over the world, it shows how important it is for a society to speak out and that each of us must not tire of raising our voices loudly against injustice and for humanitarian values," said Kaup-Hasler.

Churches Celebrate the Day of Judaism

ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation), January 12, 2024

German original: https://religion.orf.at/stories/3223019/

The churches in Austria are celebrating the 25th Day of Judaism on January 17. Numerous events and services will be held from Monday. Christianity is essentially linked to Judaism in terms of its self-image.

In order to raise awareness of this, the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria (ÖRKÖ) introduced 17 January as a separate day of remembrance in the church year in 2000. Christians should become aware of their roots in Judaism and their communion with Judaism in a special way.

At the same time, the injustice committed against Jewish people and their faith in history should also be addressed. This takes place in the context of church services and commemoration and learning events.

Not forgetting the roots

The initiative for the Day of Judaism goes back to the Second European Ecumenical Assembly in Graz in 1997. The day is also celebrated in Italy, Poland and the Netherlands. The date was chosen deliberately. The churches are to carry the spirit of this day into the subsequent worldwide "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" (January 18-25).

For despite all the divisions between Christians, all churches have in common that they are rooted in Judaism, according to the organizers, including the Coordination Committee for Christian-Jewish Cooperation.

Events and services

The Day of Judaism will be celebrated throughout Austria with various events and services. The central service of the ÖRKÖ on the Day of Judaism will take place on Wednesday, January 17 at 6 p.m. in the Catholic Church of St. Josef-Weinhaus in Vienna (1180, Gentzgasse 142).

The Armenian Apostolic Bishop and ÖRKÖ Chairman Tiran Petrosyan, the Romanian Orthodox Bishop Vicar Nicolae Dura, Walter Fürsatz from the Old Catholic Church and the President of the Coordination Committee for Christian-Jewish Cooperation, Martin Jäggle, will celebrate with the congregation. The sermon will be given by the Protestant Methodist pastor Esther Handschin.

Coming to terms with history

The motto of the service is "As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." The motto is taken from the biblical book of Ezekiel. The service will also be broadcast via Radio Maria.

According to the coordination committee, the choice of St. Josef-Weinhaus is the first time that a church has been chosen that was "a historical site of anti-Semitic propaganda" after its construction (1883). Pastor Josef Deckert, after whom the square in front of the church was named, held "anti-Semitic conferences" in the church.

Since the 1960s, efforts have been made to rename the square. Finally, the parish of Weinhaus under Pastor Peter Zitta came to terms with its history and took several pioneering measures.

Learning, remembering, celebrating

In 2019, the Coordination Committee for Christian-Jewish Cooperation worked with partners to divide the Day of Judaism into three parts: a day of learning, a day of remembrance and a day of celebration (on the actual Day of Judaism on 17 January).

January 15th is the Day of Learning. The event at 6 p.m. in the community center of the Jewish Community Vienna (Seitenstettengasse 4) will be opened by representatives of the Jewish Community and ÖRKÖ Chairman Bishop Tiran Petrosyan. Speakers include Rabbi Arie Folger on the topic "Between Jerusalem and Rome. Reflections on 50 years of Nostra Aetate" and the Protestant professor Susanne Heine with the topic "Lessons from Jewish ancestors for Christian descendants".

This year, the Day of Remembrance on January 16 is dedicated to the memory of the former synagogue in Simmering. The event organized by Vernetzte Ökumene Wien will take place at 7 p.m. in the Stephanisaal (Stephansplatz 3). Speakers will include the Secretary General of the Jewish Community, Benjamin Nägele, Coordination Committee President Jäggle, Cathedral Dean Rudolf Prokschi, Simmering Protestant Pastor Anna Kampl and Simmering District Head Thomas Steinhart.

On the day of the celebration (January 17), the ecumenical service of the ÖRKÖ will take place.

Events in the federal states

On January 16, the Catholic Private University (KU) Linz will be dedicating a lecture entitled "Everything kosher?" at 19:00 to the topic of "Food as a question of faith and identity". In a lecture, the Viennese rabbi Schlomo Hofmeister will provide insights into Jewish traditions, regulations and everyday actions and shed light on the connection between diet, identity, demarcation and community. This will be followed by a discussion with the Catholic moral theologian Prof. Michael Rosenberger from Linz.

In Graz, an ecumenical service to mark the Day of Judaism will take place on January 17 at 7 p.m. in the parish of the Holy Blood (Herrengasse 23). At the Bildungshaus St. Hippolyt in St. Pölten, Jewish Studies Professor Klaus Davidowicz will give a lecture on January 17 at 7.00 pm on the topic of "Judaism in film. Film as Midrash" (Midrash: teaching, mediation; note). He will shed light on how Jewish motifs have found their way onto the silver screen.

Anti-Semitism and "toxic language"

The Salzburg Faculty of Catholic Theology is hosting an afternoon of study on January 17 on the topic of "Toxic Language: Anti-Semitism from the Bible to the Present" (Universitätsplatz 1, HS 101). Starting at 3 p.m., Berlin linguist Monika Schwarz-Friesel will speak about language and power in the context of anti-Semitism and Salzburg biblical scholar Kristin De Troyer will talk about the Book of Esther.

The event is organized by the Center for Jewish Cultural History at the University of Salzburg, the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Salzburg, the Edith Stein University of Education Salzburg, the University of Education Vienna/Krems and the Archdiocese of Salzburg.

Middle East conflict at the Jewish Museum

In Innsbruck, Salzburg fundamental theologian Elisabeth Höftberger will be giving a lecture on a new form of Jewish-Christian dialog on 17 January at the Haus der Begegnung (Rennweg 12) from 6.30 pm. Bishop Hermann Glettler and the Protestant Superintendent Oliver Dantine have also issued a special invitation to this lecture.

In Vienna, the Director of the Jewish Museum Barbara Staudinger will also be speaking on January 17 as part of the "Theological Courses" (Stephansplatz 3) on the topic of "The Jewish Museum Vienna, the war in Gaza and the need for solidarity". According to an announcement, the Jewish Museum Vienna is taking on the task of addressing the Middle East conflict, although such exhibitions have often turned into scandals in the past.

Conspiracy theories past and present

The Jewish Institute for Adult Education's contribution to the Day of Judaism will focus on "Anti-Jewish conspiracy narratives from antiquity to the Black Death". At 6.30 pm, the motifs of conspiracy narratives against Jewish communities from antiquity to times of epidemics, hardship and religious agitation will be examined.

On January 16, the Jewish religious scholar Yuval Katz-Wilfing and the Viennese dean Ferenc Simon, member of the board of the coordination committee, will comment on the Christian-Jewish dialog on Radio Maria (8.30 pm).

An overview of all services and events can be found on the website of the Coordination Committee.

No, Gaza is Not Auschwitz. Stop the Perpetrator-Victim Reversal!

Die Presse, January 11, 2024

Guest Commentary by Ariel Muzikant and Yonathan Arfi

By declaring the war in Gaza to be "genocide", the state of Israel is being labeled the ultimate crime. This accusation is materially and legally unfounded.

Among the accusations leveled against Israel, the comparison between the fate of the Palestinians today and that of the Jews during the Shoah, as well as the false accusation of "genocide", are a reprehensible highlight.

The formula is well known: "To call things by the wrong name is to increase the misfortunes of this world", wrote Albert Camus in 1944. While Israel's hearing against South Africa is due to take place at the International Criminal Court this week, there are many actors in the public debate who are resorting to these false accusations, from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was voted out of office for anti-Semitism, to Turkish President Erdogan, who compares Netanyahu to Hitler, from the many Hamas supporters who shout "From the River (Jordan) to the (Mediterranean) Sea" at demonstrations, to certain international bodies.

Without diminishing the justified sympathy for the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population, the Israeli victims and hostages of this war started by Hamas, these accusations by South Africa must be firmly rejected.

What does this accusation mean?

What does this accusation of genocide mean? What does this Nazification of Israel mean? By casting the war in Gaza in the image of genocide, the state of Israel is being labeled the ultimate crime. This accusation is materially and legally unfounded, a perversion of events and actually aims at other, political goals.

Firstly, this reversal transforms Israel, the state of refuge for the victims of the Shoah and all those who are still fleeing anti-Semitism today, into a state of perpetrators and aims to change the public's moral compass. The symbolic designation of Israel as a Nazi and apartheid state exonerates the accusation of the European conscience of guilt for the Shoah. Finally, by maximizing the narrative of Israel's moral culpability, the accusation minimizes the gravity of Hamas' massacres, mass rape, arson and hostage-taking on October 7. Accusing Israel of genocide is essentially the most effective strategy for ignoring the Hamas pogroms of October 7 and the extermination impulse that motivated Hamas terrorists to massacre, rape and torture Israeli civilians ...

This accusatory reversal is not new. Palestinians have often used the mirror of Jewish history to formulate their own narrative. Thus, the choice of the word Nakba ("catastrophe" in Arabic) to describe the historical date of the independence of the State of Israel and the expulsion of part of the Jewish and Arab population present at the time corresponds to the meaning of the word "Shoah" in Hebrew.

But above all, this accusatory reversal disinhibits all violence against Jews worldwide. Accusing Israel of committing genocide and being the new Nazi state justifies the most radical speech and even goes so far as to justify the call for the dismantling of Israel. What violence would not be legitimate in the face of an allegedly genocidal state?

Let us not be naïve: those who use this terminology do so only to attack Israel. Their selective outrage spares the abuses of the world's worst authoritarian criminal regimes and ignores the victims of the Uyghurs in China, the Rohingyas in Burma or the Christians in Nigeria, etc. and of course they have never criticized Western military operations against ISIS against Daesh in Mosul and Raqqa, or against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, although unfortunately there have been numerous civilian casualties there too.

We Jews have the responsibility

This accusatory reversal of the facts is therefore in fact a deliberate and calculated stigmatization of the Jewish state alone. And unfortunately we know that the resulting accusation is automatically extended to all Jews, wherever they live.

We, the Jews in Austria and Europe, have a responsibility to denounce these dangerous developments while there is still time.

Those who do not fight this scandal should not hypocritically commemorate the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, because no, Gaza is not Auschwitz.

Ariel Muzicant, President of the European Jewish Congress. Yonathan Arfi, President of the Crif (umbrella organization of French Jews)

"Important pillar against illiberal tendencies"

ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation), January 11, 2024
German original: https://orf.at/stories/3345306/

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance (DÖW), Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen paid tribute to the work of the institution at Wednesday evening's ceremony in Vienna and emphasized a clear commitment by politicians to the work of the DÖW: "It is precisely now that we must not draw a comfortable line."

The DÖW is an "important pillar in the fight for a historical, unsparing reappraisal of our darkest history", but also an "important pillar in the fight against illiberal and totalitarian tendencies today in the present". Liberal democracy must be nurtured and strengthened - "especially when the environment has become more difficult".

With regard to the rise in anti-Semitism, Van der Bellen said that we are in a situation that we could not have imagined just a few years ago. The DÖW is "an indispensable element in the network against the enemies of an open society."

"Important role" in the prevention of antisemitism

ÖVP Science Minister Martin Polaschek described the DÖW as the "central nucleus of resistance research" and research into the victims and perpetrators of the Nazi era. He also praised its "important role" in the prevention of antisemitism and extremism.

At the end of last year, the Ministry of Science and the City of Vienna agreed to increase the annual funding to 855,000 euros each. Veronica Kaup-Hasler, Vienna's SPÖ City Councillor for Culture and Science, emphasized the need for a "further in-depth scientific examination of the newly emerging phenomena of antisemitism."

Former resistance fighters and academics founded the DÖW in 1963. 20 years later, it became the DÖW Foundation, which has been funded in equal parts by the Republic of Austria and the City of Vienna ever since.

Concern about the networking of right-wing extremist groups in Europe

In his speech on Wednesday evening, Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) expressed concern about the increasing networking of right-wing extremist groups in Europe and their support by groups that want to destroy the common Europe. Ludwig warned that this was not about party politics, but a debate about the principles of our democracy.

Like his predecessor in office and current Chairman of the DÖW Foundation Council, Michael Häupl (SPÖ), he spoke out against attacks by the FPÖ and other right-wing groups against the DÖW. "If you deny a scientific institute its scientific nature, you also deny it the right to exist," criticized Häupl.

On Thursday and Friday, to mark the anniversary, a high-caliber academic symposium will be held on the topic of "Resistance. Impulses for Resistance Research" will take place on Thursday and Friday.

Relocation to the Otto Wagner site planned

The most important tasks of the Documentation Archive include archive, library and museum operations as well as research management and educational tasks. In addition to the topics of resistance and persecution in Austria in the years before and during the Second World War, the focus is on the Holocaust, Roma and Sinti, right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism as well as restitution after 1945.

The planned relocation of the institute to the Otto Wagner site on the Steinhof in Vienna-Penzing is intended in particular to expand its educational and public relations work as well as its research into anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism.

Why neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers and the FPÖ are attacking the DÖW

Der Standard, January 10, 2024

German original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000202406/warum-neonazis-holocaustleugner-und-die-fpoe-das-doew-attackieren

FPÖ Secretary General Hafenecker is currently rehashing old legends and false allegations

Alongside the ORF, the Documentation Archive of Austrian Resistance (DÖW) is something of a favorite enemy of the Freedom Party. For decades, neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers and top FPÖ politicians have repeatedly claimed that the work of the DÖW is "unscientific" and that it is a "communist front organization". The calculation behind this polemic is obvious: research into resistance against Nazi terror and work in the field of anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism is to be discredited. These attacks are particularly loud when right-wing extremist activities by Freedom Party members are picked up by the media. Currently, well-known insinuations are being rehashed by FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker.

"It is more than significant that the FPÖ has been attacking an organization founded by resistance fighters, Holocaust survivors and people returning from exile for decades - we are not only a seismograph as a research institution, but also for the state of the FPÖ in general: When it goes against us, it shows its true face," says DÖW director Andreas Kranebitter.

Memorial work, school projects and research

Hafenecker considers the DÖW, which was founded by resistance fighters and survivors of the Nazi murder machine, to be a "private association that creates a climate of suppression of opinion and opinion in Austria". He also claims that the DÖW collects taxpayers' money in order to carry out "left-wing agitation for targeted denunciation". For this reason, Hafenecker made inquiries to ministries a few months ago to find out what the documentation archive is being subsidized for. The answers state that the subsidies are used for memorial work, school projects and research, in particular on topics such as "Mass deportations and destinations - the living conditions of Jews deported from Vienna".

The legend of the "communist front organization"

For the attacks against the DÖW, a court ruling is also repeatedly mentioned that would allow the DÖW to be called a "communist front organization". However, this is an appeal decision of the Vienna Higher Regional Court of May 4, 1998, in which a right-wing extremist was sentenced to a conditional fine for defamation.

The background: In 1992, the author Friedrich Romig rode sharp attacks against the Documentation Archive in an article in the now defunct right-wing extremist magazine "Aula". Among other things, he demonized it as a "front organization" and described Wolfgang Neugebauer, the scientific director at the time, as a "denunciator". Neugebauer sued for defamation and Romig was sentenced to a conditional fine on a number of points.

However, the Higher Regional Court qualified individual passages as "value judgments in the context of a political debate" and exempted them from punishment. The judge thus followed the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. However, this does not mean that the court considers such statements to be correct. According to the same case law, for example, "the term 'moron' for an Austrian politician was also considered to be covered by the protection of freedom of expression under certain circumstances", stated the non-party Justice Minister Nikolaus Michalek in a response to a question.

Right-wing extremism report

FPÖ Secretary General Hafenecker is also annoyed that the DÖW is currently compiling a right-wing extremism report for the Ministry of Justice and the Interior. He suggested that the archive would receive intelligence service information through this cooperation. This statement is false. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner also stated just a few weeks ago: "As part of the public tender for the preparation of the right-wing extremism report, all bidders - including the DÖW - were subjected to a review. In this context, no facts were found that cast doubt on the necessary objectivity."

Donation from Armin Wolf

In addition to the polemical attacks, Hafenecker also made a financial donation to the DÖW. The FPÖ Secretary General had to pay compensation to ORF journalist Armin Wolf for a false allegation. "I am donating his compensation payment of €1,000 to @doew_at for his important work," Wolf wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Just how strongly the FPÖ leadership reacts to the DÖW was demonstrated when the current "Krone" journalist Rainer Nowak was discussed as a possible director general of the ORF. The FPÖ was against this, as Nowak wrote critical commentaries as the then editor-in-chief of the "Presse" and was once a civilian servant at the DÖW, as could be read in internal chats.

Liberals ensnared the DÖW in 2019

It wasn't so long ago that the Blue Party was ensnaring the DÖW and showering it with flowers. When they were looking for material for their "historian's report" on the party's history and "brown spots" presented in 2019, the FPÖ approached the documentation archive. Party grandees even thought aloud about the possibility of cooperation and assistance from DÖW researchers in the report.

However, this did not happen. When it was presented, the report turned out to be largely an unscientific document without much value, which largely omitted sensitive topics for the party, such as its links to German nationalist fraternities, and in places reads like a whitewash. Parts were simply copied verbatim from Wikipedia or from the work of the renowned scholar Margit Reiter.

Jörg Haider had the handbook confiscated

The FPÖ's appreciation was also short-lived. After the publication of the report at the latest, the DÖW was once again the old enemy, and the then party leader Jörg Haider took legal action against its "Handbook of Austrian Right-Wing Extremism" in 1993. On the day of the presentation, he obtained an injunction aimed at stopping its distribution. This was because the cover featured a portrait photo of Haider and the "Reichskriegsflagge" (imperial war flag) popular with neo-Nazis. For Haider and his lawyer, the later Minister of Justice Dieter Böhmdorfer, this was a dishonest combination. The DÖW reacted by painting over Haider's photo in black or covering it with stickers. This solution enabled the book to be sold again and - thanks to the enormous publicity - it was on the bestseller lists for months.

The STANDARD later uncovered that Haider was at a Heurigen with militant neo-Nazis in those years, who were rarely out and about without the "Reichskriegsflagge". Today, activists from back then can be found in the FPÖ - as functionaries or employees.

Fighting "left-wing" anti-Semitism for over 20 years

In addition to right-wing extremists, the DÖW is also seen as an opponent by organizers of anti-Israel demonstrations following the terrorist attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, as it has repeatedly made anti-Semitism in left-wing garb an issue for more than 20 years. Its danger lies in the fact that the left "unlike right-wing extremists, however, denies this and thus finds a hearing among people who would otherwise close their minds to such propaganda". According to a paper published by the DÖW in 2003, the resentment is not so quickly recognized as such by many people in a "left-wing cloak". (Markus Sulzbacher, 10.1.2024)

Why Jewish Students Complain of Antisemitism Not Only in Vienna

Der Standard, December 11, 2023

German original: https://www.derstandard.de/story/3000000198962/warum-juedische-studierende-nicht-nur-in-wien-antisemitismus-beklagen

In Europe and the USA, Jewish students are increasingly confronted with anti-Semitic, "post-colonial" hate speech

Even things that are taken for granted currently seem difficult to enforce at universities. The Jusos parliamentary group recently tabled a resolution in the student parliament of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU). The title: "Take historical responsibility seriously! Protect Jewish life at universities". The motion was preceded by reports of anti-Semitic verbal violence documented at Humboldt-Universität and Freie Universität Berlin (FU).

A group called "Class against Class" is working on the latter. It complains of an "expansive apartheid state of Israel". The Jusos' motion has now failed at both universities. In the already sparsely legitimized student parliaments, left-wing post-colonial formations are setting the anti-Israeli tone. Jewish students are expressing their unease ever more dramatically. There is incitement against Jews in the wake of the Middle East war. At the Berlin University of the Arts, people wearing black masks with a pro-Palestinian agenda raised their red-smeared hands in the air. Vienna is not exempt from the tendency to physically unsettle Jewish students.

At the Central European University (CEU), the Jewish Austrian University Students (JöH) have now come forward with alarming statements. At CEU, events organized by the "Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions" (BDS) movement under the name "Teach-in Palestine" would have been readily supported. Repeated urgent requests for talks to the Rectorate from the Jewish students were met with a resounding silence - "in the first week after the Hamas massacre". Meanwhile, the student representatives were agitating in the mailing list. The Hamas atrocities were declared "resistance". Students on campus were allowed to call themselves "Zionists" and were excluded from activities.

Strange situation

JöH spokesperson Alon Ishay sees the CEU Rectorate's inaction as "unprecedented". "Free of anti-Semitism means for us: We students can openly express our connection to Israel at any time without having to fear anti-Semitism! Large sections of the left in Austria understand very well the importance of a Jewish state."

The situation is "all the more strange because we are very critical of the current Israeli government. Nevertheless, we strictly reject any one-sided defamation of the state of Israel." The stale joke here is that the CEU was once founded by George Soros. He was repeatedly subjected to anti-Semitic campaigns, for example in Hungary. CEU Rector Shalini Randeria, an Indian with US socialization, has since declared her determination: "We do not tolerate any form of bullying or discrimination. Anti-Semitism and all forms of incitement have no place at CEU!"

The university refers to a safety program - and offers the prospect of meetings. Ishay identifies an overarching problem. "In Anglo-Saxon university institutions, there is widespread sympathy with BDS. The reason for this is certainly that Israel is wrongly discussed there as part of Western colonial history." The identification of Israel as a colonial power is the bitter fruit of the tree of post-colonialism. With the proclamation of an "anti-colonial liberation struggle", Hamas and Hezbollah have been declared actors in the struggle against the West and its "discourses of domination."

Guidelines on bullying

The names of "progressive" academics are not only crowded onto "pro-Palestine" lists. When recently questioned in the US Congress, Harvard President Claudine Gay did not know whether "calling for the genocide of Jews" at universities violates the guidelines on bullying and harassment. "It may be, depending on the context," was Gay's response. In the meantime, she has done some soul-searching. She now says: "I'm sorry."

Her colleague Elizabeth Magill has left altogether. The president of the University of Pennsylvania also only wanted to make her answer to the same question dependent on "context". She has now resigned. (Ronald Pohl, 11.12.2023)

Foundation puts up posters with faces of Israeli hostages in Vienna

Der Standard, December 1, 2023

German original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000197820/stiftung-haengt-plakate-mit-gesichtern-israelischer-geiseln-in-wien-auf

"Never again is now" - this is the motto of a new poster campaign calling for the release of all Israeli hostages. The project is supported by author Doron Rabinovici, among others.

At the beginning of December, 24 posters with the faces of Israeli hostages - the majority of whom are still in captivity - will be put up in Vienna. The posters are several square meters in size and are mainly placed in the city centre. The faces of the few hostages who have been released are pasted over with hearts. The Dr. Éva Kahán Foundation in Vienna initiated the project together with entrepreneur Sandra Berkson under the motto "Never again is now!". There have been similar campaigns in cities around the world under the slogan #BringThemHomeNow.

Writer Doron Rabinovici is supporting the campaign together with other cultural figures. "We are already there, where we have always been warned about," he said at the launch of the campaign on Friday morning. What happened on October 7 was a genocidal message. "Only when everyone is free will we be able to free ourselves," said Rabinovici. So that Jews, Christians, Muslims and non-believers can live in peace, security and dignity, the slogan should be: "Bring them home! Let my people go! Am Israel Chai!" The latter phrase is the name of an Israeli anthem of solidarity and a widely used slogan. It translates as "The people of Israel are alive".

Similar posters have already been torn down

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, numerous videos have circulated on social media showing people in other cities tearing down flyers and posters calling for the release of the hostages and throwing them in the trash. Actor Cornelius Obonya, who also supports the campaign, said: "To all those who tear down posters of people who have been kidnapped or already killed, I can only say: imagine it the other way around just once. If your children were kidnapped, if your grandmother were suddenly taken somewhere on a motorcycle at gunpoint." Nothing justifies murder and the deliberate targeting of civilians.

The Dr. Éva Kahán Foundation is a non-profit foundation based in Vienna that supports socially disadvantaged young people and artists. Éva Kahán was a Hungarian lawyer who campaigned for democracy, freedom and minority rights. She died in Vienna in 2004. (1.12.2023, Milena Wurmstädt)

War Overwhelms Teachers: Information Evenings to Help

Kronen Zeitung, November 22, 2023
German original: https://www.krone.at/3173795

Radical videos and rumors about the Middle East conflict are circulating among schoolchildren. A historian at the Salzburg University of Education has therefore organized a new series of events for teachers.

Rumors like these are circulating in Salzburg schools: "Hamas, that's the Palestinians. They are longing for liberation." Or: "What Hamas is doing in Israel, the Jews are doing to the Palestinians." "Anti-Semitism is currently on the rise. Many teachers feel overwhelmed as to how they should deal with the Middle East conflict," says Adelheid Schreilechner.

90 participants on the first evening

The historian at the Salzburg University of Teacher Education (PH) has organized a series of information evenings for teachers to mark the occasion. Monday evening showed just how great the need for support is. The first online event was attended by 90 teachers of all school types from all districts.

Even teachers from Vienna, Vorarlberg and Styria equipped themselves with historical knowledge about the Middle East conflict for school. "According to the teachers, the mood in the schools is not heated. But the pupils are asking questions. That's what school is for," says Schreilechner.

Asking questions - often not possible at home

In many parents' homes, the position is clear, either for Israel or for the Palestinians. Only at school can these children ask questions about the war that would not be possible at home, says Schreilechner.

Children see gruesome things - parents needed as listeners

Many children watch gruesome TikTok war videos. Their parents can also help them, the historian advises: by taking their children's emotions and fears seriously and asking about what they have seen on social media. War can be explained to young children like a fight. It's also okay to say as a family: "We don't have to take a stance."

Van der Bellen Gives Speech in Memory of November Pogroms: "Antisemitism Has no Place Here"

Der Standard, November 6, 3023
German original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000194035/novemberpogrome-van-der-bellen-betont-verantwortung-214sterreichs

The Federal President appeared at a rally in Wels: "Jews are part of Austria and must be able to feel safe and at home here"

Wels/Vienna - At a rally organized by the Wels Initiative against Fascism (Antifa) to commemorate the November pogroms, Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen called for Austria's "everlasting responsibility." "In view of the terrible, barbaric acts committed against Jews on our soil," it is the duty of the Republic and its representatives to "stand up resolutely and with the deepest conviction against all forms of antisemitism."

On the night of November 10, 1938, synagogues in Austria were set on fire, Jewish stores were looted and Jews were abused. At the traditional ceremony on Monday evening in front of the Jewish memorial in Pollheimerpark in Wels, Van der Bellen recalled how Nazi hordes "well-orchestrated by their leadership" wreaked havoc 85 years ago. "Many, too many looked the other way or even cheered in approval when the crimes were committed."

"Antisemitism has no place here. Hate has no place here," said Van der Bellen, emphasizing Austria's resulting responsibility. It does not matter whether it is "the long-established antisemitism that we repeatedly encounter from dark corners and stuffy cellars in our country" or "Islamist or anti-Israeli motivated antisemitism, as is now manifesting itself in some places." Statements that deny Israel's right to exist should not be tolerated, nor should attacks on Jewish institutions or disparagement of the Israeli flag, warned the Head of State, emphasizing: "Jews are part of Austria and must be able to feel safe and at home here."

Van der Bellen: "Hamas is a terrorist organization"

"Our response to antisemitism of any origin must be tough, clear and unambiguous. Those who live in Austria, those who want to live in Austria, not only enjoy human rights, but also have human duties." Those who believe they can "use the prevailing tolerance for intolerance must bear the consequences,"said Van der Bellen.

The Federal President emphasized that it was also important for Austria's credibility to name things and made it clear: "Hamas is a terrorist organization whose goal is the annihilation of Israel, and nothing justifies its actions." The attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 "was a sadistic, abysmally terrible act of terror" that should not be relativized.

The rally, which has been taking place for 25 years, not only commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, but also calls for the fight against racism and antisemitism in the present day, said Antifa chairman Werner Retzl in the run-up to the event - "unfortunately a highly topical issue". He reminded the audience that, according to the Ministry of Justice, there had been almost 2,400 criminal proceedings for Nazi reactivation and Holocaust denial in the previous year and that antisemitic incidents had increased again following the Hamas attack.

Appeal to the youth

Martin Kamrat, Vice President of the Jewish Community Linz, said that he found it particularly difficult to find the right words for this year's commemoration. "While we are commemorating here together, a war is raging in Israel and 200 people are still being held hostage by Hamas," while at the same time antisemitism is on the rise worldwide "and unfortunately also in Austria." Kamrat appealed to the youth: "The young generation is the shaper of the future. They should work for a world in which the horrors of the past never happen again, for peace, social justice and sustainability." They also have the task of keeping the memory alive. At the commemoration ceremony, pupils from BRG Wallerer Straße took on this task: they described the fates of Holocaust victims from Wels.

Parliament commemorates the November pogroms on Thursday in the National Council Chamber. The opening speech will be given by National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP), a video message of greeting will come from Amir Ohana, the President of the Israeli Knesset. The President of the Jewish Community of Vienna, Oskar Deutsch, will also be present. Prior to this, representatives of the federal government will lay a wreath at the Shoah Wall of Names in Vienna. Due to the Middle East conflict, increased security measures will be taken at all celebrations this year. (APA, red, 6.11.2023)

Arson Attack on Jewish Cemetery: Fire Was Set in Two Places

Kurier, November 1, 2023

German original: https://kurier.at/chronik/wien/brandanschlag-auf-dem-juedischen-teil-des-wiener-zentralfriedhofs/402653096

By Uwe Mauch, Michaela Reibenwein

A fire was set in front of the ceremonial hall of the new Jewish cemetery at Vienna's Zentral. Visitors on All Saints' Day were shocked, angry and uncomprehending.

On Wednesday night, a fire was set in the Jewish section of Vienna's Central Cemetery (IV Gate). This was reported by Oskar Deutsch, President of the Jewish Community of Vienna and the Federal Association of Jewish Communities in Austria.

A few hours later it was clear that the fire had started in two places. Arson is therefore certain. However, no accelerants could be identified at first. Whether a window was smashed - or burst by the flames - was still unclear at first.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the police fire brigade are investigating the arson.

According to Deutsch, the vestibule of the ceremonial hall was burnt out. Swastikas were sprayed on the outer walls. No persons were injured, the amount of property damage cannot yet be quantified.

Temporary closure

The emergency services were alerted shortly after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, said fire department spokesman Gerald Schimpf. An outbuilding of the domed building, the so-called ceremonial hall, was affected. It had "probably already been burning there during the night," explained the spokesman. However, the fire had largely extinguished itself. The fire department fought the embers and ventilated the smoke-filled rooms.

The building was temporarily closed by the authorities, according to a statement from the IKG. There was considerable material damage. However, graves could be visited. Deutsch called on people to come to the sea of lights at Vienna's Heldenplatz tomorrow, Thursday, at 6 pm. "Take a stand against antisemitism and misanthropy. For an end to the attacks on Israel, Judaism and democracy, for the liberation of all hostages."

Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor react

"I condemn the attack on the Jewish cemetery in Vienna in the strongest possible terms", tweeted Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on the public holiday. "Antisemitism has no place in our society and will be combated with all political and constitutional means. I hope the perpetrators will be tracked down quickly."

Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) also expressed his horror: "The antisemitic arson attack at the Central Cemetery is another act of completely unacceptable aggression against the security of Jewish life in Austria" and he condemned the act "in the strongest possible terms." The investigating authorities are now called upon to find the perpetrators quickly and bring them to justice. "Together we will fend off these disgusting threats against Jewish culture and protect Jewish life in Austria," Kogler assured.

"The news about the fire in the Jewish section of the Central Cemetery shakes me to the core," wrote Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) on Platform X. "Peaceful and respectful coexistence is a top priority in our city. It is our historical obligation to protect Jewish life and Jewish institutions."

SPÖ leader Andreas Babler also condemned the antisemitic attack and expressed his full solidarity with the Jewish community. "Antisemitism, hatred and violence have no place in Austria. The protection of the Jewish community must have top priority. We stand side by side with all Jews. Never again is now."

"It's really frightening! Antisemitism has no place in our society, regardless of where it comes from," emphasized Sabine Schatz, SPÖ spokesperson for remembrance culture. "We stand together against such antisemitic attacks and assaults," also emphasized NEOS leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger. "Never again is now."

"The desecration of Jewish cemeteries is one of the most cowardly and disgusting forms of antisemitic violence", said the community rabbi of the IKG Vienna, Schlomo Hofmeister, outraged. "The arsonists left behind beer bottles and swastikas. I hope we don't hear the words from anyone now: 'rascals', 'isolated incident' or 'Halloween' to 'explain' anything here."

Israel Flag Ripped Away in Front of Vienna City Temple: Police Researched Suspects

Der Standard, October 22, 2023
German original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000192170/video-zeigt-wohangriff-auf-wiener-synagoge

A video circulating on social media shows the Israeli flag being torn down. The object protection for the synagogue was extended to 24 hours.

A video of what appears to be a politically motivated attack on the Vienna City Temple, which has been circulating on X, formerly Twitter, since Saturday evening, is causing a stir. The video, taken on Tiktok and shared on X by Bini Guttmann - a member of the executive council of the World Jewish Congress - shows three people. While a man with the help of a second person tears down the Israeli flag of the city temple, a woman imitates a machine gun. The incident was confirmed to the "Kurier" by the Vienna Regional Police Directorate. It is said to have occurred from Friday to Saturday at 2 am.

As the Vienna Provincial Police Directorate announced in a statement on Sunday afternoon, it has since been possible to identify a suspect. The 17-year-old had already been questioned and confessed to the damage to property. However, she denies the accusations of incitement to hatred. She claims to have met the other two perpetrators only shortly before the incident. They are to have moved her to the action. In addition, the young woman stressed that she had been heavily intoxicated. The Austrian citizen was reported at large. According to police, investigations are underway into the other suspects.

In a previous release, it was stated that the criminal investigations are being conducted by the Vienna State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism. Investigations are being conducted on suspicion of incitement to hatred, damage to property and bodily harm, it said.

Last night there was an anti-Semitic attack on the Vienna City Temple. Amid hooting, one person tore down the Israeli flag the synagogue had hoisted, another person imitated a machine gun.

The situation is serious also for Jews:Jewish women in Europe. pic.twitter.com/kfGscFBt5Q

- Bini Guttmann (@Bini_Guttmann) October 21, 2023

Witness tried to stop person

According to police, passers-by tried to stop the persons after the incident. According to the report, a witness had tried to stop a person. During the attempt, he is said to have been stopped by several unknown persons and beaten by one man. As a result, he was injured in the face. The flag was seized by officers who had been alerted in the meantime. A backup of videos from cameras in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene was arranged.

E-mail to LPD Vienna

Object protection for the main synagogue has since been extended to 24 hours, according to a statement from the Vienna police Sunday morning. However, the Vienna Regional Police Directorate (LPD) previously rejected increased protection for synagogues and houses of prayer, according to the Courier. The report cites an e-mail on behalf of the DSN on Oct. 12 from the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism. According to the report, five days after the attack by Islamist Hamas on Israel, the DSN demanded that houses of prayer and synagogues in Vienna be continuously monitored. In a response a day later, the LPD Vienna had revoked all measures for permanent surveillance on behalf of the provincial police chief Gerhard Pürstl. Pürstl had resisted the recommendation of the secret service and stressed that he was only bound by instructions from the Ministry of the Interior.

The LPD Vienna rejected the statements of the "Kurier" report in a dispatch. The mail available to the newspaper refers to a one-time object protection-related security measure commissioned by the DSN on the evening of 12.10.2023 due to an abstract risk situation. This had been valid only on 13.10.2023 for the following 24 hours.

On Oct. 18, the Interior Ministry raised the terror alert to the second-highest level. At a press conference with DSN Director Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, and Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and Military Commander Kurt Wagner, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) stressed that the "visible presence in front of Jewish institutions" had been increased in the days before. Personnel resources were to be increased for this purpose.

Karner: "Priority is protection of people".

On Sunday, Karner defended the behavior of the executive, which has so far been present (at least visibly) only during the opening hours of the synagogue. The Minister of the Interior was a guest on ORF's "Press Hour," where the attack on the Vienna City Temple was also a topic. Asked how such an incident could happen, the minister first replied that the incident was "to be condemned in the strongest possible terms." He said he had already spoken to Oskar Deutsch on the phone. "The priority was first of all the protection of people," not the protection of objects. However, he said, one was aware that the synagogue in Seitenstettengasse was a particularly sensitive place. Initially, the focus had been on protecting the Jewish population of the Jewish community, but in light of recent events, property protection was expanded. In addition, Karner said that important information is not shared by mail traffic.

The police stressed that the focus of the surveillance "in coordination with the religious community" was on the protection of people who were there during the prayer and opening hours of the temple. Now the object protection has been changed to permanent surveillance.

Flag flies again

As the president of the Israelite Religious Society Oskar Deutsch emphasized, the religious community had raised the flag in memory of more than 1,400 murdered and 200 deported. He called the pulling down of the flag an "anti-Semitic, terror-glorifying act."

A flag was raised again Sunday afternoon. "We won't let it get us down," Deutsch wrote in a post on Platform X.

The #Israel flag is flying again at the IKG building in Seitenstettengasse - in solidarity with Israel and in memory of those murdered and deported. A second flag has now also been installed. We won't let it get us down!#AmIsraelChai! pic.twitter.com/YGxPG59K1D

- Oskar Deutsch (@DeutschOskar) October 22, 2023

According to the Israelite Religious Community's anti-Semitism reporting center, 76 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in the first 13 days since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel. "Compared to the incidents reported in the entire year of 2022, this represents a 300 percent increase," the head of the reporting office, Benjamin Nägele, said in a statement. (awie, rroi, wisa, APA, 10/21/2023)

Middle East Conflict also Upsets Carinthia

ORF Carinthia - October 11, 2023

German original: https://kaernten.orf.at/stories/3227931/

The Hamas attack on Israel and the massive counteroffensive on the Gaza Strip have been shaking the world for days. Hundreds have been kidnapped, thousands killed and hundreds of thousands displaced. What will happen next is completely open. The atrocities of the past few days have also been felt in Carinthia.

Actually, the Austrian Armed Forces wanted to start the evacuation of Austrians from Israel on Wednesday. But a technical defect in the transport plane delayed the rescue operation. And that in an already turbulent time. Harry Koller of the Austrian-Israeli Society of Carinthia worked in Israel for seven years and knows many of those affected. "When you have such a contact and have been to Israel often enough yourself, it is not the easiest time for me personally at the moment."

Emotional situation

His acquaintances did not want to give an interview because the situation is simply too emotional at the moment. Help can hardly be given from Carinthia apart from expressions of solidarity. "I personally wrote to all my friends that if necessary, my doors are open. If they want to get out of the country and spend a few days in peace. The offer hasn't been accepted yet, but I think just that they know there is an alternative is immensely important right now," Koller said. The Israeli community here in Carinthia, by the way, is extremely small. Only a handful are drawn here for professional reasons, for example.

At the EU level, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke out on Wednesday. She is sticking to humanitarian aid for the Palestinians, even though they are ruled by the radical Islamic Hamas. For Harry Koller, this is a necessary step: not all of the two million people there are automatically Hamas fighters.

"If you look at the Gaza Strip, which in terms of size is about three times the area of Klagenfurt, but more than two million people live there, then you can assume that not all of them are so radicalized and Hamas fighters. The vast majority are civilians."

Carinthian doctor in Gaza Strip

Israel immediately launched a counteroffensive in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas attack. Diyani Dewasurendra has been working there for months. The general practitioner from Velden reports how even hospitals and ambulances are shelled. She is in the middle of the city. "We get the shock waves and the vibrations and of course we hear the launching of the rockets and the bombs hitting in the distance. The number of wounded is very high. We just know that the hospitals are overcrowded with patients and the staff is also in great danger."

The doctor is now in a UN building. Leaving Gaza is out of the question at the moment, she said. "There is no safe passage, we are staying once now and it is being reviewed daily what the possibilities are, but can't anyone leave Gaza." Diyani Dewasurendra tries to block out the constant threat. It's about saving lives, she says.

Call for Violence Against Jews Around the World: Cobra Guards Jewish Institutions

Kurier, October 11, 2023

German original: https://kurier.at/chronik/oesterreich/weltweiter-aufruf-zur-gewalt-gegen-juden-cobra-in-alarmbereitschaft/402627572

The terrorist organization Hamas called for action on Friday. The executive branch is stepping up its monitoring.

After the terrorist organization Hamas called for a global wave of violence against Jews on Friday, October 13, the Austrian security authorities are also on alert.

Jewish institutions in Austria have already been under increased surveillance since Saturday. The DSN (Directorate of State Protection and Intelligence) is in close contact with international security agencies. "Calls for acts of violence in social media, changes in the situation in the affected countries, information from foreign partner services and many other circumstances or information are included in the ongoing threat analysis and assessment of the situation," the Interior Ministry said. A further strengthening of the measures is "not excluded". However, they did not want to give any details.

On social media, Hamas called for a "day of mobilization of all global Muslims in solidarity with the Palestinian people and the resistance."

The threat is likely to be taken very seriously by the authorities: When a journalist in Linz wants to photograph a synagogue, he is immediately asked by police officers to identify himself. Surveillance of Jewish institutions is partly visible, partly covert. Officers of the special Cobra unit are also on duty.

However, no concrete threat is currently known in Austria. Meanwhile, the Vienna police are preparing for a large-scale operation on Wednesday evening. Vigils for Israel and Palestine are to be held in Vienna - in close proximity to each other. The Israelite religious community wants to commemorate the victims of Hamas terror at Ballhausplatz, while the supporters of the liberation of Palestine will gather at the same time at Stephansplatz.

The coming Friday is the "Friday of the Al-Aksa tide," Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, announced Tuesday. It is about supporting the Palestinian people "in the face of the open war of (Israeli) occupation." The Temple Mount (Al-Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem, with the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa Mosque, is the third holiest site in Islam.

Hamas also urged young Palestinians in the West Bank to engage in confrontations with Israeli soldiers. Arabs in Israel, in turn, were told to come to the Al-Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem and gather there.

Hundreds of terrorists had crossed the border into Israel on Saturday in a surprise attack on behalf of Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip. Some 900 people were killed, men, women and children, in the ensuing attacks and a massacre among participants in a music festival. More than 2,600 people were injured, according to the Israeli Health Ministry.

Israel responded with airstrikes in Gaza that killed 788 people, including more than 140 children and 120 women, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. More than 4100 people were injured in the airstrikes, it said.

Vienna Between Israel Solidarity and Hamas Sympathy

Der Standard, October 8, 2023

Politicians back Israel, but pro-Palestinian demonstrations are causing a stir. How present is the glorification of Hamas in Austria?

The flag of Israel flew over the roofs of the Federal Chancellery and the Foreign Ministry over the weekend. But while Austrian politicians declared their solidarity with Israel and strongly criticized the terrorist attack by the Palestinian Hamas, anti-Israeli demonstrations marched through Vienna.

As early as Saturday afternoon, activists carrying Palestine flags gathered on Vienna's Mariahilfer Strasse, chanting "Freedom for Palestine." A video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the journalists' alliance Kollektiv Communique also shows pro-Palestinian rallies on Ballhausplatz. The clip was also shared by Vienna's deputy mayor Christoph Wiederkehr (Neos), who stressed, "It is appalling and unacceptable that Hamas attacks on Israel are cheered in Vienna."

In a statement on Sunday, the Islamic Religious Community in Austria also condemned "not only excesses of violence and blatant human rights violations in the strongest possible terms," it also reacted to the rallies and called on people to "refrain from any form of glorification of violence, which can be observed in isolated cases on the streets of Austria."

Photos with Hamas leader

But that Hamas terrorists are glorified in Vienna is no surprise. On the contrary. This is shown by a look at the zillion-page file on the so-called Operation Luxor, which is available to the STANDARD. In the course of the investigation, dozens of raids against alleged Muslim Brothers took place in Austria on November 9, 2020. The focus was also on the question of whether the Islamists had indirectly financed Hamas, which had once emerged from a Palestinian offshoot of the Brotherhood.

Three years after the raids, this suspicion has not been substantiated - for example in the case of a 60-year-old man who is associated with a Viennese donation association. The case against him has since been dropped. However, investigators found plenty of Hamas propaganda on the man's smartphone, including anti-Jewish material calling Jerusalem a "cemetery of the Jews." Photos from 2012 also show that man with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyya. A conference was reportedly taking place in Gaza at the time. Security circles are still certain that Hamas is also being co-financed through the structures of the Muslim Brotherhood in Austria.

Relevant sermons

Further insight is provided by an association in Austria that was founded in 1998 and is considered the most important organization of the Muslim Brotherhood in Austria. In the association's Vienna headquarters, investigators were able to seize a guide in which not only broad education about Hamas was provided, but also the "liberation of the Holy Land and its cleansing from Zionist filth" was propagated, according to the file. In the Graz branch, in turn, a paper emerged in which Palestinian terrorists were stylized as heroes. Among them was an eminent Hamas cadre who had carried out several bomb attacks in the 1990s.

The preacher of a Viennese mosque had also been very outspoken. According to a study by the Dokumentationsstelle Politischer Islam (Documentation Center for Political Islam), in earlier speeches at the mosque he is said to have spoken of the "heroes in Gaza" or "our brothers, the leaders of Hamas, the leaders of the resistance," among other things.

Increased security measures

But what do these entanglements and demonstrations mean for the situation of Jews living in Austria? While there is currently no increased danger to Jews, whenever the conflict in Israel escalates, domestic institutions are also at risk of becoming the target of an attack. As a result of the terrorist attacks on Israel, protection measures for synagogues and other institutions of the Jewish Community in Austria have been increased. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution consistently takes action against all forms of Islamist extremism and terrorism. But it also fights those who finance or try to legitimize this terrorism and its terrible deeds," Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) is quoted as saying in a statement.

In security circles, there are fears that demonstrations by Palestinian activists will increase - accordingly, they would be under surveillance. This is also what FPÖ security spokesman Hannes Amesbauer is demanding. He declared that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution must deal with the "terror sympathizers" and demanded that "a stop be put to illegal mass immigration." And ÖVP Vienna leader Karl Mahrer also wants "not to go back to business as usual" after the anti-Israel rallies. In any case, there was another demonstration on Sunday afternoon - albeit only in a small circle: not even ten people, most of them draped in Palestine flags, expressed their solidarity with Palestine at the Memorial to the Persecutees of Nazi Military Justice on Vienna's Ballhausplatz.(jan, ook, 8.10.2023)

My ancestors were Holocaust victims. I can forgive, but not forget

Der Standard (online), September 22, 2023.

German original: https://www.derstandard.at/story/3000000187976/vergeben-ohne-zu-vergessen

When it comes to evil deeds, the Holocaust is a category unto itself. The fact that Austria grants its citizenship to survivors and their families is a good sign.

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, a Jewish American with Viennese roots, describes in her guest commentary what Austrian citizenship means to her and her children.

These are the Jewish High Holidays, when Jews ask for - and grant - forgiveness for bad deeds, whether those deeds were intentional or accidental. We also ask forgiveness for wrongs we have committed because we stood idly by while others did evil.

The process of forgiveness is not a science. Sometimes it's hard to tell if we're doing it right or wrong. When it comes to evil acts, the Holocaust is a category unto itself. There were several levels of evil. At the top were Adolf Hitler and key members of his party who conceived and carried out evil deeds. There were people who "followed orders" and did horrible things themselves. There were the people who voted for the Nazis to come to power. And there were "bystanders" who simply did nothing to prevent evil.

Who and how can they be forgiven? Is there a time limit for this? Does the guilt pass to their children or their country? Is this still relevant today?

My grandfather Daniel Laszlo and my grandmother Edith Vincze Laszlo were Jews. They studied medicine in Vienna. Then they lived in Germany as visiting scientists and doctors when the Nazis began their rise. As Jews and with a newborn child (my father), my grandparents rushed back to Vienna. There my grandmother published scientific papers and practiced psychology and neuroscience with Anna Freud, and my grandfather was a pioneering thinker in medicine.

Greeted like a hero

As I'm sure you know, this was not a safe place for Jews either, as the Austrian people helped the Nazis to power. In 1938, my father and his parents were in the family's apartment at Währinger Straße 58 when the Nazis marched in. Hitler himself was greeted like a hero. A huge parade celebrating Hitler passed directly under my family's apartment. There were soldiers, tanks, and tens of thousands of cheering Austrians. My father and his parents saw it all. After much fighting, my father and his parents were eventually among the relatively few who were lucky enough to escape to the United States. However, much of our family was stuck in Europe and killed by the Nazis.

When my father turned 85, three generations of our family went to Vienna and saw where he had lived as a child. We also visited the place where his parents had been doctors. It was very moving.

Back to the question of forgiveness on the High Holidays: forgiveness does not mean forgetting. We must never forget what happened. Austrians wanted Hitler to come to the country after he wrote Mein Kampf, in which he called for the genocide of the Jews. So does Jewish law require us to forgive them? Do they want forgiveness? They want it and have demonstrated it for a long time.

Decades ago, I met Helmut Türk, then Austria's ambassador to the United States. He reached out to Jewish leaders and established relationships. Since then, I have met several Austrian ambassadors. They all did the same thing and organized events to commemorate Austria's role in the Holocaust. Are there still anti-Semites in Austria? Sadly, they exist, as they do pretty much everywhere else.

Recently, I was invited to receive an award at the United Nations in Vienna for my work on disability issues. In front of more than 3,000 people from 70 countries, I reminded the audience on stage at the UN of Austria's Nazi past. I wore my pin with the Lion of Judah - a large Star of David - and spoke about how the Nazis killed Jews and people with disabilities alike. Austrians and others in the audience were grateful for the remembrance and determined to do more and do better. Although today's Jewish community is a tiny fraction of the size of the pre-Holocaust Jewish population, it is thriving in Vienna today.

Part of the tradition

This year I took advantage of an Austrian government program to come to terms with the crimes of the Holocaust and obtained Austrian citizenship for myself and our children. There is a lot of paperwork to do, and the embassy staff was very helpful. I am grateful to the Austrian government and my many Austrian friends for their openness to acknowledge and learn from their history to promote a better future for all.

For me it was significant to close a circle and get back the citizenship that was denied to our family by the Nazis. It was and is a part of forgiveness and an important part of our tradition. It's not easy, and I don't think people who were themselves victims of the Nazis can necessarily forgive. What happened to my father and his family - my ancestors - was inhumane.

I don't know if my long-dead grandparents would approve of me taking Austrian citizenship. But considering how difficult it was for them to get out of Europe, I imagine they would be happy if my children had multiple citizenships and European passports as options. One clear lesson from the Holocaust is that it's good to have escape options when terrible things happen. (Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, 9/22/2023)

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi (59) is an American with Austrian roots, a former political consultant, and an activist for disability rights and for the defense of Israel.