The president of the Austrian Jewish Community, Oskar Deutsch, this week led a delegation of 10 Austrians on a solidarity mission to the south of Israel. The area for years has been under constant rocket fire from Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza and suffered greatly in the recent round of fighting. “In Gaza, the Israeli army is facing a terrorist regime that oppresses its own people and sends them to death,“ Deutsch said in a statement. "We are showing millions of Israelis that we are standing behind them and are grateful to them, as Jews and as Austrians."
The group visited wounded civilians and soldiers in the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, as well as an Iron Dome site that protects approximately 500,000 people. The visitors also expressed their solidarity with Holocaust survivors in Kfar Maimon, as well as with soldiers who are protecting the population against attacks coming from Hamas’s tunnels.
Charlotte Herman, president of the Jewish Community in Linz, and Ariel Muzicant, vice-president of the European Jewish Congress (EJC), also thanked the wounded soldiers in the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon for their commitment to the safety and freedom of the people. "You are fighting a battle for the free world. We thank you for that," Deutsch told the soldiers.
Deutsch welcomed the recent announcement of the Austrian Federal Government to address anti-Semitic incitement with legislative action. "We came to Israel to express our gratitude, and what we got is their solidarity,“ he said. "The State of Israel protects and defends life. The situation for Jews in Europe becomes increasingly threatening. The support of individual governments on security issues is a first step.“