Austrian Jewry was alarmed and surprised when a close scrutiny of the actual text of the new constitution for Austria, which became available today, disclosed that the document does not contain guarantees for the equality of all citizens regardless of religion.
One of the most important clauses of the old republican constitution of 1920, for the Jews of Austria, was the phrase “privileges of creeds are debarred.”
The omission of these words from the new “authoritarian” constitution imposed by the Dollfuss government has caused great alarm in Jewish circles, particularly in view of a sentence in the new constitution which reads: “Austrian citizens may be treated unequally only in so far as positive grounds justify.” The language of this clause is vague and indefinite and it is obvious that it can be stretched to mean almost anything.
Earlier reports on the new constitution had stated that Jewish fears of discrimination had been completely allayed.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
