Jews in Austria Protest Government’s Delay on Reparations Talks

Austrian Zionist leaders today protested the Austrian Government’s decision to delay the beginning of talks on reparations to the Jews for damages suffered during the Nazi regime, calling the decision an election maneuver of the Peoples and Social Democratic Parties. The protest was expressed in “Neue Welt,” publication of the Zionist movement.

The article points out that the real reason for the government’s decision to postpone the reparations talks with the Jews lies in the fact that the Jews in Austria represent a mere handful of votes while the parties now in power fear that action toward reparations would antagonize hundreds of thousands of voters. It also cites the example of the West German Government of proceeding with the reparations agreement in the face of all sorts of opposition, including that of the Arab States.