Image: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH
Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen received his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog for an official state visit to Vienna yesterday. After the guard of honor had left the castle courtyard, the two heads of state laid a wreath in Ostarrichi Park at the Shoah Wall of Names in honor of the Jewish children, women and men from Austria who were murdered in the Holocaust. After 1938, 65,000 people were killed in foreign ghettos or in extermination camps.
“The scars are deep,” Herzog recalled of the Holocaust. He praised the Austrian government’s “uncompromising fight against anti-Semitism”, which should be an example for other countries. Van der Bellen reiterated: “We cannot and do not want to forget the persecution and expulsion of tens of thousands of Jews from Austria.”
Both praised the bilateral relationship as better than ever. These would be further intensified through an agreed strategic partnership. Israel still has a lot to teach Austria in the field of innovation, research and technology, said Van der Bellen, who also noted that Vienna is among the top five destinations for Israeli tourists.
The number of Israeli-Austrian dual citizenships has increased over the past four years. Direct descendants of Nazi victims have been able to apply for an Austrian passport since 2019. Of the 23,000 neo-citizens, half are under the age of 35.
Van der Bellen and Herzog also spoke about current issues. Regarding the Abraham Accords, Israel’s normalization agreement with Arab countries, Herzog said he believed that “there will be more agreements.” At the same time, the security threat to Israel from the Iranian nuclear program is intensifying. Herzog spoke of “dramatic times. We are on a threshold.” However, Herzog did not mention the dispute over judicial reform by the ultra-right government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his country.
Van der Bellen said he shares Israeli concerns about Iran and Hezbollah. The development and acquisition of nuclear weapons by Tehran must be prevented. He also emphasized that Austria is still sticking to the two-state solution. At the end, Herzog, accompanied by his wife Michal, paid a visit to representatives and institutions of the Jewish community in Austria.
Source: Nachrichten
