Anti-Semitic attacks in Graz

Police in Austria have arrested a man who carried out a series of anti-Semitic attacks in Graz, including attacking the head of the city's Jewish community and defacing its synagogue. Since the man, who has confessed to his crimes, is a Syrian who has been living in Austria since 2013, the country's media are discussing how to combat anti-Semitism in a migration society.

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Die Presse (AT) /

Hatred had almost died out

The daily Die Presse warns that refugees must also be expected to show tolerance:

“Austria has a special duty towards its Jewish citizens and institutions not only because of the Holocaust but because anti-Semitism, an absurd hatred that just a few years ago we hoped had died out, is on the rise again, as virtually all studies and surveys show. ... You don't have to be on the far right to see the truth: with the large refugee movements, anti-Semitism was of course also imported. We must deal with this fact just as we do with our own 'autochthonous' anti-Semitism from the German national and sometimes even arch-Catholic corner ... In the course of the integration of those who have a positive decision on asylum in their pockets, we will have to demand full tolerance and respect for Jews and our liberal way of life.”

Der Standard (AT) /

Not an imported problem

Der Standard hopes that the problem of anti-Semitism will finally be taken seriously in Austria:

“It will not be enough to strengthen the protection of Jewish institutions, as announced. As Integration Minister Susanne Raab stressed at the press conference, anti-Jewish prejudices are highly prevalent among Muslim youths. ... And the obligation the government invoked on Monday to stand up against anti-Semitism must also be guaranteed in the case of offenders without a migrant background. ... Such concepts must now be implemented quickly - there's really no need to go back to the drawing board anymore. Because radical ideas are not just 'imported'. It is a problem that predates this republic.”