Austria–Israel relations
Bilateral relations / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bilateral foreign relations exist between Austria and Israel. The fact that Adolf Hitler and other perpetrators of The Holocaust came from Austria gives the relationship between the two countries a special relevance. At the same time, the founder of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, also lived in Austria-Hungary and many Israelis are descendants of Austrian Jews. After the founding of Israel, the Second Austrian Republic recognized the Jewish state of Israel shortly after its founding in 1949, before official diplomatic relations were established in 1956. In the 1970s, Bruno Kreisky sought a role as mediator in the Middle East conflict and called for a Palestinian state, which caused disputes with the Israelis. Relations were later strained by the Waldheim affair in the 1980s and the first FPÖ government participation in 2000. After that, the two countries became close allies and established friendly relations. In 2023, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg announced “we have entered into a strategic, extremely close relationship with Israel that can no longer be undone”. Within the EU, Austria is considered one of the most pro-Israeli countries.[1]
Austria recognized Israel on March 5, 1949. Austria has an embassy in Tel Aviv and 3 honorary consulates (in Eilat, Haifa and Jerusalem).[2] Israel has an embassy in Vienna.[3] Both countries are full members of the Union for the Mediterranean. The Austrian Foreign Ministry lists the bilateral treaties with Israel (in German only).[4]