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BO Friday, October 73, 1581
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Vienna Synagogue Bombing Unites Austrian Jewish Community
By BEN FRANK
NEW YORK (JTA) —
"'That closed up feeling of
the ghetto; the walls, the
concentration camp, the
shootings, the blood on the
side walks — it was a feel-
ing that we were back in the
war. -
This is how Leon Zelman,
a leader of the Vienna
Jewish community, de-
scribed his feelings when
two terrorists attacked the
synagogue in Vienna Aug.
29 and left two people dead,
18 wounded and psychologi-
cal scars that will take some
time to heal.
Zelman was in the
synagogue on that Saturday
along with some 250 other
people celebrating a Bar
Mitzva. I had visited the
Jewish community in Vie-
nna only a month before the
tragic event.
During my visit, he and
the people I met were at
ease. Now, as one would
expect, anxiety was evi-
dent in Zelman's voice.
He stressed that the
Jewish community did
not panic when the ter-
rorists staged their as-
sault, but began to
mobilize their resources.
"We held a large de-
monstration in the
square around the corner
from the synagogue in
central Vienna," Zelman
said.
Many Jews and non-Jews
attended the funeral service
of the two persons who had
been murdered in front of
the synagogue, Ulrike
Kohut, 25, and Lotan Fried,
68. Present at the service,
Zelman recalled, were the
Austrian Vice Chancellor,
the Minister of Foreign Af-
fairs, the Minister of In
terior and members of the
clergy.
The synagogue bombing
will have a lasting effect on
this small Jewish commun-
ity which numbers between
8,000-10,000, many of
whom are elderly. Many of
the buildings which house
Israeli and Jewish institu-
tions had been under sec-
urity to avert terrorist as-
saults. Now, security is
being tightened even
further — a daily reminder
of vulnerability to attack by
terrorists.
In its own way, the ter-
rorist attack on the
synagogue will probably
help unite the community
in its resolve to go on, de-
spite its small population—
and its memories. The
community has, survived
because it maintained its
Jewish identity and cohe-
sion through all the tragic
times, because of the rela-
tive freedom which Jews
have had in Austrian soci-
ety and because they have
been able to become integ-
rated economically and pro-
fessionally and contributed
to Austria's economy, poli-
tics, the arts and sciences.
Everyone lives with the
memories in Vienna. It is,
after all, a city in which
one inhales culture and
nostalgia. To be in Vie-
nna and to visit the
Jewish community of
about 8,000 to 10.000 is to
Bar-Ilan Archeologists Find
Storehouses, Jugs at Shilo
RAMAT GAN — An ar-
cheological team of 60 per-
sons from Bar-Ban Univer-
sity, digging at Shilo, have
confirmed that the site was
destroyed in a fierce fire,
probably by the Philistines.
According to Israel Finkels-
tein, who headed the exca-
vation, many artifacts re-
mained in the ruins as the
population fled. The dig
turned up important data
relating to the early Israel-
ite architecture and process
of settlement in the Holy
Land.
Among the finds were 20
huge storage jugs, each over
thre •-feet high, and a large
ant. rare seal showing two
hr.: ned animals. The seal
wa, discovered in the
,tratum relating to the
early Israelite period.
Shilo was the religious
and political center of the
tribes of Israel during the
time of Joshua and the
Judges. The Tabernacle and
the Arc of the Covenant
were at first based there
until transferred to
Jerusalem. Shilo was cap-
tured by the Philistines as a
consequence of the defeat of
Israel at the Battle of
Eben-ezer (Samuel 1:4) and
abandoned for a short time.
It was at Shilo that the
Land of Israel was di-
vided among the tribes
and the Levites assigned
their cities. It reached the
peak of its development
at the time of the Priest
Eli and the Prophet
Samuel who was there as
a boy. During the Israel-
ite monarchy it was still
occupied. It was men-
tioned in Roman-
Byzantine sources, as
well as in Jewish writ-
ings.
The archeologists from
Bar-Ilan found a whole sec-
tion of buildings with rows
of pillars of uniform layout.
The large storage jugs indi-
cate that they were public
buildings, perhaps
storehouses, and may have
been part of the religious,
political and administrative
center of Shilo.
Austrian Jewish youths participate in a religious
ceremony in Vienna's main synagogue. The building,
which was bombed by terrorists in August, was dedi-
cated in 1826.
confront the past, enjoy
the present and plot the
future.
Zelman has done all
three. He survived the
Holocaust, he helped the
Jewish community stay
alive, and he is convinced
that it will continue as a
vital and viable entity.
Zelman has a theory
about the Jews of Vienna
which may be extended to
other Jewish communities
in Europe. He believes that
there are Jews who say that
after World War II Jews
should have abandoned
Europe completely — sim-
ply left for good.
Jews arrived in this
European metropolis at the
beginning of the 10th Cen-
tury and, except for a brief
period, have resided in this
city of symphonies, operas,
romantic Baroque buildings
and sweeping green parks.
Jews overcame social
obstacles and were very
much a part of Austria
which until 1918 ruled
much of Europe. Many
Jews who became world
famous much of Europe.
Many Jews who became
world famous were born
in Austria: Sigmund
Freud, Theodor Herzl,
Alfred Adler and Gustav
Mahler are examples.
Vienna is a geo-political
city. It was and still is at the
crossroads of Europe. Here,
East meets West. One feels
it in the monuments, one
sees it in the faces of the
tourists from many lands;
one realizes immediately
that three Communist
countries (Czechoslovakia,
Hungary and Yugoslavia)
border on Austria.
Vienna, moreover, hosts
the world. That is why
tourists flock here. There
are no airs and pretenses.
And Austria is even becom-
ing more of a popular desti-
nation for Israelis on vaca-
tion.
There are about a dozen
houses of worship (batei
midrash) in Vienna; a
Jewish elementary school,
and a very active Lubavitch
group. There were some
180,000 Jews in the city be-
fore World War II, but very
few survived the Holocaust.
The history of Austrian
Jewry is spotlighted by
three popular sights; the
Documentation Center
directed by Simon Wie-
senthal, the Max Berger
Collection ofJudaica and
the Sigmund Freud
Museum. But there are
many other sights and
manifestations of
Judaism in the city.
The big debate in Vienna
is whether the Jewish com-
Austria or elsewhere,
munity is viable or not. De- students do respond and
spite disclosure by some .demonstrate support for
that the community is not
Israel, Soviet . Jews and
one of the world's most
Syrian Jews.
Jewishly involved, hope is
This is a close-knit com-
expressed by many that munity. Everyone knows
with encouragement, everyone else and the very
Jewish life will continue to small nucleus is what keeps
'thrive. What is encouraging it alive. There is no doubt
to a visitor is that a few of that the Jewish community
the present Jewish com-
is involved in the cultural
munity leaders want to and economic life of the
keep things humming.
- country: They live a "nice
life," is the best description
For example, Michal
Katz, president of the of Jews in Austria.
Jewish Student Union, and
And why not? Whether it
Ben Segenrich, a student
is the result of the relaxed
leader, said that there are nature of the Viennese,
800 members in the union
political direction, the for-
between the ages of 18 and
tunes of history or a combi-
35.
nation of all three, Vienna
emerges as a truly livable,
One popular activity is
urban
cosmopolitan place.
the weekly get together for
Israeli folk dancing. The
The best way to 'begin a
students also often gather visit to Vienna is to stop at
for parties. While fewer at- the Jewish Welcome Ser-
tend lectures on Jewish and
vice; it will begin an experi-
Israeli-related topics, there ence with the past, present
are some educational prog- and future in a country still
rams which do draw a great deeply involved with the
Many students.
world and a Jewish com-
And when there is a munity which intends to
crisis . in Jewish life in stay alive.
Recent Events Promote Feelings
of Doubt Among European Jews
By ARNO HERZBERG
ZURICH (JTA) — A sense
of uncertainty and doubt is
pervasive in Europe. There
is a feeling that events are
slowly, but surely, slipping
out of control and that
Europe is in for hard times.
If the numerous surveys
are correct, the public, in al-
most every country on the
continent, is wary of the fu-
ture which appears to be
bleak and foreboding.
Recent events which have
shaken Europe have sent
tremors through Zurich
which is in the heart of
Europe. Aside from local
riots by restless youths, and
even terrorist bombings
here, Zurich and other cities
and placid Alpine villages
are keenly aware of the
events elsewhere in Europe
that border close to anar-
chy: riots, terrorist bomb-
ings, social unrest and polit-
ical tensions and ethnic
strife from Amsterdam to
Liverpool, from West Berlin
to Hamburg, from Rome to
Bologna, from Paris to An-
kara, from Vienna to
Athens.
Out of the welter of
these developments is a
growing concern over the
safety and future of
Jewish communities in
many of these cities. In
the past year Jewish and
Israeli lives and proper-
ties have been targeted
by terrorists, as at the
Copernic synagogue in
Paris, the El Al office in
Rome, the synagogue in
Vienna, the Israel Consu-
late in Athens and the Is-
rael Embassy in Vienna.
But terrorism has also
struck the general public
as well.
If it were not so tragic,
Jews could point to the fact
that the general public in
Europe is now reaping the
harvest of terrorism against
Israel. The fact is that it was
Israel and the Jewish people
that were the first to experi-
ence acts of terrorism,
bombings, kidnappings and
murder by "freedom fight-
ers" financed by Arab pet-
rodollars. -
Year after year the West-
ern world kept quiet, paid
ransom and opened prison
doors through which ter-
rorists escaped their just
punishments and then re-
grouped and rearmed them-
selves to continue their
wanton acts.
1930s. The consequences
will be the same: surren-
der is organized murder.
Nobody could appease
Hitler and nobody can
appease the PLO.
In the 1930s there were
many who counselled that
Hitler was not really that
bad, just the people around
him. Today, there are those
who counsel that Yasir
Arafat is not that bad, just
the people around him. But
this is wrong in theory and
tragic in practice.
There is no way of know-
ing how much Arab money
is hidden away in the bank
vaults of Switzerland. But it
is known, albeit in general
and abstract terms, that
while Europe is groping for
an answer to Arab ter-
rorism and trying to calcu-
late the cost in terms of loss
of lives and property, a
transfer of riches is taking
place that. can hardly be
comprehended by anyone
who is not a student of in-
ternational economics.
The peace-loving and un-
concerned spectators of-the
"game of death" that took so
many Israeli and Jewish
lives have now become vic-
tims of the same criminals
who envelop their bullets
and bombs in politically de-
ceptive phrases as "freedom
fighters" even as the free-
dom of innocent people is
blown apart. The terrorists,
regardless of the names
Given this massive
they give to their organiza-
wealth, Arabs are in a posi-
tions, were taught by the
tion to finance well-oiled
Palestine Liberation Or-
propaganda campaigns
ganization how to kill, how
against '"Zionist im-
to terrorize, how to cover
murder with the mantle of perialism" and "Zionist ter-
ror"
and "Israel brutality
patriotism and how to issue
and bombings" of "innocent
the cry for "justice" as a jus-
people."
tification for indiscriminate
killing.
But the genuinely inno-
European politicians are cent people — Israeli men,
at a loss as to how to cope `women and children in
with these nefarious de- cities, on kibutzim and
velopments. They do not
moshavim, and Israelis,
know how to meet the Jews and non-Jews in
threat to the basic freedom Europe — are hitrd pressed
of their citizenry. If a politi- to answer these 'slick prop-
cian seeks to apply the full
aganda campaigns. And so
resources of the state — much of Europe views the
against terrorism, he is at- victims as the aggressors
tacked by the appeasers.
•and the aggressors as the
victims. This is truly a
• Appeasement has be-
modern-day version of Alice
come fashionable once
in Wonderland.
again, as it was in the