Foreign Minister Leopold Gratz instructed Austria’s Ambassador to Israel Tuesday to ascertain from the government in Jerusalem whether Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir spoke as its representative or simply as a politician in his attacks on Austrian Presidential
Gratz, whose Socialist Party candidate Kurt Steyrer is opposing Waldheim in the June 8 run-off elections, nevertheless deplored Shamir’s exhortations to defeat Waldheim as unseemly meddling in Austria’s internal affairs. He added that he
There has been a long-running verbal battle between Austrian politicians and some prominent Israelis since the World Jewish Congress last winter produced documents indicating that Waldheim was fully aware of and possibly
Waldheim, a former United Nations Secretary General, was forced to admit to his military service after 1941–a matter he falsified in his memories and managed to conceal for 40 years. But he vehemently denies personal involvement in war crimes.
SOCIALISTSDEPLORE ATTACK ON WALDHEIM
Socialists deplore the attacks on Waldheim because they divert public attention from the
Its chairman, Alois Mock, said Tuesday that Shamir was an insult to Israel’s President Chaim Herzog who, while disturbed by the allegations against Waldheim, has cautioned Israelis not to pass judgement
Mock observed that Israel’s positive image in Austria remains intact because of men like Herzog.
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