32 No. 57 JUSTICE The Honorable Vice President of the European Jewish Congress Dr. Ariel Muzicant, The Honorable Minister of Justice Dr. Wolfgang Brandstetter, The Honorable President of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, Ms. Irit Kohn, Ladies and Gentlemen. Many thanks for inviting me to this conference. It has been 77 years since the pogroms against the Jews on November 9, 1938. 77 years - almost a lifetime. Let us think of what one could learn within such a long period of time: One normally learns how to walk and talk, do arithmetic and write. Human beings also get to know their environment as well as social norms and rules, they learn a trade and perhaps some foreign languages or various hobbies. They continuously evolve in their lives, which eventually makes them mature people -- with a fulfilled existence. Our European society too has lived for 77 years, since that dark night in November 1938. And when we look at the way Europe has used the time since the Second World War, one can say that it has made very good progress in many fields -- I am thinking here about the establishment of the EU, new freedoms, technological advances and political developments. It must also be pointed out, however, that in certain areas our society has learned nothing. By this I mean that xenophobia and antisemitism are still too prevalent in today’s Europe. Two years ago the “European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights” published a study that was based on surveys taken among nearly 6,000 Jewish citizens from eight European countries. Two thirds of the participants regarded antisemitism as a big problem and 76 percent noted that the situation for people of Jewish faith has changed considerably for the worse. I am also most horrified by the fact that over 70 percent of the victims of antisemitic attacks do not go to the police. These figures clearly show that we must act in favor of our fellow Jewish citizens—based also on our past— in order to demonstrate what we have learned over the past 77 years. That is because we do bear joint responsibility for the unspeakable crimes and the wartime atrocities and we are aware of this responsibility more than ever before. What happened then is incomprehensible and unconceivable for us today. It was simply a fundamental attack on our core values as human beings, namely on the dignity of mankind. This chapter in history must not repeat itself, neither in Austria nor in any other place on the face of this earth. Therefore, it is all the more tragic, that following the attack on the Jewish supermarket Hyper Cacher last January, one cannot rule out the possibility that the attack on the “Bataclan” music hall in Paris may have had an antisemitic background as well. After all, in the last few years the premises had been owned by a Jewish citizen and was not sold until September. The event venue has been a focal point for anti-Israeli and Islamic groups time and again. This means that we must fight not only against radicalization and extremism, but also against antisemitism and intolerance in Europe. Our goal is to preserve the diversity of our society and protect people of all convictions and faiths.
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