(Jewish Daily Bulletin)
The Austrian Minister to the United States, Edgar Prochnik, today issued a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on the forthcoming visit to America of the soccer team of the Hakoah, the Jewish sport club of Vienna. The statement reads:
“To the members of the Sport club Hakoah welcome on their arrival on American soil. I heartily greet my countrymen, who have come to defend the Austrian colors against American teams. In a fair and free contest they will meet American sportsmen, and there is no field where friendly feelings, better understanding and good fellowship, are rendered through strife, than on the battlegrounds of International sport. There the competitors from various countries measure their strength and ability and in this peaceful struggle for supremacy they learn to esteem and like each other. Victor or vanquished, a sportsman will never concede victory over or defeat from a meaner man; his code of honor forbids him to cross arms with a man of inferior qualities. The Austrian team will find a hearty welcome by the sportloving people of America, who will show a keen interest in the coming contest and whose attention to Austria will be drawn on this special occasion.
“The Hakoah Football team belongs to a purely Jewish athletic association of Vienna, and has distinguished itself in the various fields of sport, having repeatedly won European championships in Soccer Football, Wrestling, Hockey, Swimming, etc. This bears witness to the fact that, contrary to rumors disseminated at times, the Jewish population in Austria is afforded equal rights and equal opportunities for its social and physical development.”
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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.