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Assault on Holocaust Survivors in Austria

From the Jewish Times

Five Austrian teenagers were arrested in connection with a neo-Nazi attack on Holocaust survivors. The survivors and others were attacked while commemorating the 64th anniversary of the liberation of a concentration camp near Salzburg on May 9. Two people were wounded in the attack, in which teens allegedly fired plastic bullets from air guns and harassed visitors verbally, according to reports.

According to an Austrian news service, one of the arrested youth is a member of the Socialist Party of Austria’s youth group, the Red Hawks.

Austria’s foreign minister called the attack a provocation against Austria.

At hagalil.de, he is quoted as saying:

This is an unacceptable provocation, which will hurt Austria’s international image and the tourism of the country. One should not allow such acts to effect the openness and the hospitality of our country.

Following last week’s incident of a Vienna Jewish family being refused a room under an Austrian hotel’s “no-Jews” policy,  the country’s openness and hospitality is already in question, especially when Jewish Austrians themselves encounter such hostility. According to the Hotel owner, “Jews make problems.” And the Mayor explained that “every Hotel owner has the right to decide, who to rent a room to and who not.”

Responding to the attack on the Holocaust Survivors in Ebensse the Chairman of the youth group is calling to immediately establish an antifascist project.

Antifascism as marketing strategy to save the national reputation?

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The 43 Group – Militant Jewish Anti-Fascism in Post-WWII Britain

The 43 Group was a British anti-fascist group set up by Jewish ex-servicemen after World War II. They did this when, upon returning to London, they encountered British fascist organisations such as the Jeffrey Hamm’s “British League of Ex-Servicemen” and later Oswald Mosley’s reformed British Union of Fascists, or BUF. The activities of these fascist groups included anti-semitic speeches in public places, inciting racial hatred, and from the rank-and-file fascists, violent attacks on London Jews and Jewish property. Group members broke up far-right meetings, infiltrated fascist groups, and attacked the fascists in the streets. (wikipedia)

A video is available here.

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Jewish Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War

The Abraham Lincoln Brigades Archive is an expansive research site documenting the history of the ALB’s contribution to the anti-fascist struggle of the Spanish Civil War.

From their website:

The veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were courageous men and women who participated in the Spanish Civil War in the fight against fascist aggression in Europe. In 1979, together with academic scholars, writers, filmmakers and cultural workers, the veterans established ALBA to awaken public consciousness to historical issues of the 20th century that are rarely presented in secondary and higher education curricula in the United States.

Through its continually expanding archival collections in exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and performances, ALBA preserves the legacy of activism and commitment as an inspiration for present and future generations in working effectively toward a better and more just society.

This, the ALBA website, is fast becoming the leading web resource of information on the Spanish Civil War and its legacy, and the relationship of the importance of historical principals of individual dedication to social justice in today’s society. So take a look, join our Listserve, study our education modules, keep abreast of the latest news and events. Back issues of The Volunteer, ALBA’s award-winning quarterly news journal, are online and available for your information and education.

Included on this website is also a section about Jewish Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.

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