by Eldad Beck
Kurz: I will work to foster ties with Israel and the Jewish community
Austrian Chancellor
Sebastian Kurz
|
Sebastian
Kurz made history twice this month: first as the youngest person to
be elected chancellor in Austria's history and head a Western
government, and again when he included explicit recognition of the Jewish character of the State of Israel as well as Austria's culpability in the Holocaust in his government's platform.
This political precedent, in a country that
for decades avoided admitting its role in the genocide of Europe's
Jews, is especially important in light of the composition of his
government. The 31-year-old Kurz's conservative Austrian People's Party
has formed a coalition government with the nationalist Freedom Party of Austria, with which, until now, Israel has refused to have any ties as a result of its past Nazi and fascist ties.
The Israeli government announced it would
continue to abstain from ties with government ministers from the Freedom
Party, and would follow the actions of the new government before
contemplating a change to its position.
In an interview with Israel Hayom from his
Vienna office, his first with an Israeli media outlet since taking
office, Kurz said he understands Israel's position on its ties with the
far-right party and it is his responsibility to allay Israel's concerns.
"I respect that," he said. "I really
appreciate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I have a friendly
relationship with him. I very much hope that I can help remove the
existing doubts."
He said that in order to do so, he would
first work to "foster good ties with Israel and with the Jewish
community. I will hold talks, and I hope that through our work we can
convince Israel. The political platform of this government, under my
leadership, they are the first in Austria's history to explicitly
recognize the Jewish character of Israel."
Kurz said his government had set a goal to make it easier for descendants of Nazi victims to obtain Austrian citizenship.
"I am very aware that, because of our history, we have a great responsibility that I want to uphold," he said.
"My government's platform is an expression
of that. As Austria's chancellor, I have an interest not just in good
ties with Israel, but in Austria being Israel's partner and ally."
In Israel, many were disappointed when the
new Austrian government, despite its declaration of friendship, voted in
favor of a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's official capital last week.
However, Kurz said Austria's U.N. vote "was
not in any way a vote against Israel or against the United States. We
adhere to the EU position that determines that the future of Jerusalem
must be determined in direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians."
When reminded there is no unanimous
European opinion on the matter, and that quite a few EU countries chose
not to support the resolution, Kurz said that while this was true, "no
EU nation has transferred its embassy to Jerusalem."
Asked whether Austria would be the first EU country to make such a move, Kurz resolutely replied, "No."
Eldad Beck
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2017/12/27/austrian-chancellor-we-should-be-israels-partner-and-ally/
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