Subscribe to Print Edition | Tue., November 25, 2008 Cheshvan 27, 5769 | | Israel Time: 20:27 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 00:00 03/09/2007
Austria Chancellor pledges new era in relationship with Israel
By The Associated Press
Tags: Israel, Austria, chancellor 

Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer on Monday kicked off a two-day visit to Israel, pledging a new chapter in his country's emotional and often strained relationship with the state.

Gusenbauer's visit is the first to Israel by an Austrian head of government in close to a decade and only the third since the country was founded in the wake of the Nazi Holocaust. Ties have often been strained because of Austria's alliance with Germany during World War II.

It's true that the relationship between Austria and Israel not always has been an easy one, but I think we are embarking on a new initiative," Gusenbauer said at a red-carpet welcome ceremony at the office of PrimeMinister Ehud Olmert.
Advertisement

"We are opening up a new chapter in our relationship, a chapter of friendship and cooperation," he said, speaking in English.

The Austrian leader started his day with a visit to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum and memorial, where he stood for a moment in silence and laid a wreath in memory of the six million European Jews killed by the Nazis.

"I'm very moved by my visit to Yad Vashem," he wrote in the visitors' book. "It reminds us of the incredible brutality that man is able to exercise. It reminds us to be vigilant against all forms of racism and anti-Semitism ... It reminds us of our responsibility to safeguard the security of Israel and its neighbors, to secure the rebirth of the Jewish people."

Many Austrians enthusiastically supported the Austrian-born Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and about 70,000 Austrian Jews were killed in the Holocaust. For years Austria rejected responsibility for the persecution of Jews on its territory, arguing that it became the first victim of German aggression when Hitler annexed Austria in 1938.

Franz Vranitzky was the first Austrian chancellor to visit Israel, in 1993, as part of a tentative thawing of relations after the six-year term of Kurt Waldheim, who served during World War II as a junior army officer in a Nazi army unit in Yugoslavia.

Waldheim said he had not been involved in any wrongdoing during his service in the Balkans, but Israel downgraded relations in protest.

Vranitzky made an explicit acknowledgment of Austria's role in the Holocaust during his 1993 visit to Jerusalem when he said that Austrians helped the Nazi regime to function and must beg forgiveness.

In March 1998 then-chancellor Viktor Klima said during a trip to Jerusalem that ties between the two countries were improving in light of Austria's attempts to look more honestly at its Nazi past, but relations took a downturn
two years later when Israel recalled its ambassador from Vienna to protest the inclusion of the extreme right-wing Freedom Party in the federal government.

Gusenbauer said during his visit Monday that Iran must not only slow down its uranium enrichment activities, but stop it completely.

Gusenbauer spoke during a reception ceremony held by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem. The chancellor also said that "we have to track closely the sanctions on Iran, and even move beyond them."

Olmert called on his Austrian counterpart to expand the sanctions on Iran, to support negotiations with Israel and the Palestinian Authority and to refrain from holding contacts with terror organizations.

More Jewish World news and features






Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Spy chain
Iran: We smashed espionage network linked to Israel.
Poultry dilemma
Will U.S. Jews have kosher Turkey this Thanksgiving?
  1.   I look forward to see how Austria will contribute to stopping 17:09  |  Petra 03/09/07
  2.   # 1 18:23  |  Kris 03/09/07
  3.   Austria Big Trade Partner with Iran / Lies 18:47  |  Semsem 03/09/07
  4.   #2 Blaming the Jews for Anti Israeli policy 18:51  |  Elly Feuerwerk 03/09/07
  5.   Germany More Honest than Austria 18:59  |  Laila 03/09/07
  6.   austrian citizenship to holocaust survivors 19:24  |  josh 03/09/07
  7.   Austria Is More Anti Jewish Than Necessary 19:28  |  Herr A Haider 03/09/07
  8.   MAY ALL VICTIMS OF WWII REST IN PEACE . 20:47  |  Robert Of Jerusalem 03/09/07
  9.   Self-righteous ignorance (#7) 21:56  |  Paul Kaye 03/09/07
  10.   Jews helping Jews meet Jews 01:54  |  George 07/09/07
  11.   jews helping jews meet jews 18:23  |  hannah 25/11/08
 Read & React
Olmert: History will owe Bush for setting Mideast on path to peace
Responses: 97
Top UN official: Israel's policies are like apartheid of bygone era
Responses: 127
Shas to seek payout for Jews deported from Arab countries
Responses: 91
Policeman filmed head-butting East Jerusalem residents
Responses: 24
Bradley Burston: Thanksgiving in the Holy Land - Grace and 4 questions
Responses: 127
Two Israelis sentenced to death in Thailand for drug smuggling
Responses: 39


More Headlines
19:43 Olmert: U.S. never advised Israel to use restraint against Iran
15:49 Two Israelis sentenced to death in Thailand for drug smuggling
20:22 Tehran seeks death for three Iranians accused of spying for Israel
16:37 IAEA chief ElBaradei: Let Syria have nuclear aid
16:29 Iran's Khamenei: Lebanon needs unity to 'confront the Zionist regime'
19:06 Noam Shalit to Olmert: Redeem your failures and bring Gilad home before your term ends
18:17 Israeli 'beauty machine' helps optimize photographed faces
15:07 Top UN official: Israel's policies are like apartheid of bygone era
17:32 Jewish Agency panel urges sweeping changes to improve lives of new Ethiopian immigrants
19:01 Israel closes Gaza crossings again after humanitarian supplies let in
18:14 Fatah clan leader returns to Gaza after four months in exile
12:27 Thanksgiving in the Holy Land - Grace and 4 Questions
17:20 Abbas aide: Palestinian elections will be in April whether Hamas agrees or not
13:19 'There will be war over House of Peace,' vow Hebron settlers
14:25 Survey: 72% of public think Israel is rife with corruption
13:44 Finance Ministry unveils NIS 11 billion bailout for economy
Previous Editions
Special Offers
Advertisement
Living in Israel Studying in English
Click & Meet our students from all around the world
Living in Israel Studying in English
Click & Meet our students from all around the world
Dan Boutique Jerusalem
New Dan Hotel in Jerusalem Young, Fun & Distinctively Dan Book Now Online!
Fattal Hotel Chain
Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
Car rental in Israel
Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
Dial 013 for your long-distance calls
and get all your money back
US CITIZENS
Vote for real change. Request your ballot today!
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
Jewish Singles Personal Ads
Find the love of your life on JDate.com
Israel's Premier Real Estate Website
www. israel-property.com
Hebrew Summer courses
From $39.95
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved