Austrian Parliament Event

March, 2011

Ms Barbara Prammer-
President of the Austrian Parliament, and
Honorary President of
The Friends of "Yad Vashem" in Austria,

Mr Fritz Neugebauer-
Deputy President of the Austrian Parliament,

Mr Aviv Shir-On-
Israel Ambassador to Austria,

Ms Ulrike and Mr. Schuster –

The driving force of this organization.

Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

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I have come here this evening
to bring greetings and a warm Shalom,
from Israel, from Jerusalem,
from the Knesset and
from the Knesset Speaker, Mr Reuven Rivlin.

I stand before you tonight,

representing the State of Israel.
Israel, which rose from the ashes of the Holocaust,
represents the rebirth of the Jewish people,
in its historic homeland.

Allow me to express my deep appreciation

to the Austrian Parliament,
to the Jewish Community in Austria
and to Yad Vashem
for the initiative of holding this important event.

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Today, we pay tribute to the six million souls,
who were brutally murdered by
the well-oiled extermination machine of the Nazis.

They were brutally murdered

because their only crime was
that they were Jews.

We also pay tribute,

to the many millions of people of other Nations,
who were also murdered,
just because they were different!

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They were all the victims
of racism and anti–Semitism-
– the darkest of human vices.

Freedom of Expression!
Freedom of Religion!
Freedom of Movement!
Respect for Minorities!
All these are sacred values of Democracy!

Unfortunately, extremists around the world

threaten these very democratic values
that we all share.

During these turbulent times in the Middle East,

we see brutal revolutions in many countries
in the region.

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People are being killed
just because they
DO NOT agree with their evil leaders,
as we have recently witnessed
in Libya, Yemen and Tunisia.

The inhumanity of anti–Semitism

continues to plague us.
Recently,
there have been violent incidents against Jews,
including attacks in Europe.
In many cases,
Anti-Semitic stereotypes are used in efforts
to denounce Israel.

Sixty-three years have passed

since the establishment of Israel, and
Israel is still struggling for its existence.

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Just last week, a whole family,
was slaughtered and butchered while they slept,
by "Human Savages".
Udi the father, 36 years old.
Ruti, the mother, 35 years old.
Yoav, 11 .
Elad, 4 .
And the little, tiny baby , Hadas, only 3 months old.

Extremist leaders
like the Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
deny the Holocaust.

These leaders have expressed their wish

for a new Holocaust,
by calling for the extermination of Israel.

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Sadly, history has taught us
to take these threats seriously.

And in the case of Iran,

they are trying to develop nuclear weapons
in order to realize their vile aims.

These extremist leaders support terrorist

organizations like the Hamas and Hezbollah – which
seek Israel’s destruction.
The answer to such extremists is
to isolate them and to defeat them.

The entire free world,

including the European Union and Austria,
must unite against them.

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Israel is a Western democratic state
– a multicultural society,
with great achievements.

And we, Israelis,

are capable of defending ourselves.
But the threat posed by an Iran
with nuclear weapons,
is not only a threat to Israel,
it is a threat to you, here in Vienna,

it is a threat to the entire Community in Europ,

and it is a threat to the whole global village.

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The main strategic goal and challenge of Israel
remains to achieve peace with its neighbors.
But peace means a full recognition of Israel
by its neighbors,
including the Palestinians.
The solution is two states for two nations.

This solution would strengthen

the moderate leaders in our region,
and so promote regional peace.

Combating extremism also involves

strengthening democracy from within,
and teaching tolerance to our children.

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The study of the Holocaust
at Yad Vashem in Israel,
in Austria and in other countries,
is a very important means of teaching
the young generation about the necessity
of fighting anti-Semitism and Racism.

I bless the cooperation

between Austria and Israel;
between the Austrian Education Ministry,
and Yad Vashem,
where 500 Austrian Teachers
are graduates of courses
held at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem,
for one purpose only-
To educate the Youth of today about the Holocaust!

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"Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it".
Said Adalbert Wagner,
a young Austrian,
at a seminar for youth at Yad Vashem in 2008.

Our goal today should be:

Teaching and Educating the young generation
about the obligation of fighting against
Anti-Semitism and Racism.

This event tonight

certainly contributes to advancing
this worthy educational goal.

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I would like to express our thanks and appreciation
to you, President Prammer,
for your initiative to convene the annual meeting
of The Friends of "Yad Vashem"
in this wonderful house of Parliament.

As we stand here together,

in this Austrian Parliament,
allow me to proclaim:

May the immortal memory of the victims

bring us all together in saying:

Le'olam Lo!

Never Again!

Niemals Wieder!!!!!!!!
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