Dr. Shimon Samuels, Director for International Relations at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, called for the resignation of Austria’s Defense Minister Norbert Darabos for playing down the Iranian nuclear threat against Arab Gulf countries and Israel, as well as singling out Israel for biased treatment.
In an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, Samuels said Darabos "should resign" because "he has discredited Austrian impartiality in terms of Iran — especially as Austria is host to the International Atomic Energy Agency — and this is extremely dangerous."
Samuels said he "finds it very strange" that Darabos continues to be defense minister because the "Austrian government has disassociated itself from the minister, and logically he should have no standing on defense."
"It is extremely worrisome to see Austria take any role in Iran negotiations through this mouthpiece," he added.
At the EU human rights agency in Vienna, Samuels said Darabos\’s attacks on Israel meet the definition of the EU’s classification of modern anti-Semitism, saying it also is disturbing "when you take into context his statement playing down the Iranian threat." He continued, "I wonder how Gulf leaders feel about the Austrian defense minister playing down the Iranian threat. They are in the line of fire."
In an interview with the Die Presse over the weekend, Darabos called Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman “unbearable,” downplayed the Iranian threat, and accused Israel of using that threat – and the Palestinian issue – to sidetrack attention from domestic problems.
“Mr. Liberman is unbearable for me as a member of the Israeli government,” Darabos said in the interview. In connection with Iran, Darabos said that Israel’s “threats” were“unnecessary” because “Iran is not ready to build the bomb.”
When asked if Darabos plans to resign, Stefan Hirsch, a spokesman for the Austrian defense ministry, wrote the Post by email on Wednesday that the “call to resign is ridiculous. A resignation is not being discussed in Austria. The minister has, in contrast, received support.”
However, Chancellor Werner Faymann and Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger have distanced themselves from Darabos’ statements, saying his comments do not reflect the position of the Austrian government. Austria’s largest daily, Krone, slammed Darabos in a commentary by the popular columnist Michael Jeannée .He compared Darabos to the former Nazi-Waffen SS member Gunter Grass and his anti-Israel tirades. Jeannée wrote that Darabos has "damaged Austria’s official policies."
Darabos remained defiant on Wednesday. He told the Post that Liberman os an “ultra-right politician” and, in an interview with an Austrian paper earlier in the week, confirmed that he stands “100%” behind his criticisms of the Jewish state.
Yacov Stiassny, from the Israel-based Central Committee for Jews in Austria, wrote the Post by email on Wednesday in reference to Darabos, saying that though anti-Semitism is no longer respectable in Europe since the end of the Third Reich (and legally prohibited in Austria,) “criticism of Israel is popular. Therefore, the new anti-Semites dress themselves up as critics of Israel and guardians of the Palestinians.” He added that “ I do not want to contend that Darabos is anti-Semitic but he is certainly no friend of Israel.”
In an email to the Post on Tuesday, Abraham H. Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League, wrote "The Austrian government did the difficult but right thing of publicly criticizing one of its ministers. We had been in contact with the Austrian government and received a similar response.”
Deidre Berger, the head of the American Jewish Committee office in Berlin, told the Post on Wednesday: "Castigating the work of an Israeli cabinet minister as insufferable is an attack on core values of dignity and civility. Denouncing the foreign minister of an allied country in this manner is irresponsible, manifesting double standards and raising troubling questions of perceptions of Israel in Europe. Those who dabble in anti-Semitic imagery by delegitimizing the officials of a democratic government should not be surprised at the results."
She continued: "Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is a staunch supporter of German-Israeli relations. He has made a praiseworthy contribution to strengthening this important relationship. One can only hope that his efforts to create a deeper level of German-European-Israeli understanding would be recognized and not condemned by European counterparts."
The head of Austria’s Jewish community Oskar Deutsch told the Post on Tuesday that Darabos’s statements were “unnecessary” and he was pleased that Austria’s foreign ministry dismissed the remarks as not the position of Austria’s government.
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