From . – 03/19/2024 1:14 p.m. (act. 03/19/2024 2:16 p.m.)
The “Friends of Yad Vashem” association in Austria is about to be dissolved. ©AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner, File
The election of a new board was originally planned at the general meeting of the “Friends of Yad Vashem Austria” memorial association, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday. However, since the only list of candidates has withdrawn, the decision to dissolve the club is now on the agenda
List 1 withdrew because the top candidate had an incompatibility between her job and volunteer work. List 2, which was made up of politicians, had already withdrawn in February. Among them was Andreas Rabl, the FPÖ mayor of Wels, who received severe criticism from the Mauthausen Committee and the Israelite Religious Community.
The “Friends of Yad Vashem” association in Austria could be refounded
An attempt was made to find a new person for List 1, Schuster told the APA, but it was difficult. He doesn’t see a dramatic solution. “If the association is dissolved, it will not be the end of civil society in Austria and it will not mean that Yad Vashem no longer has any friends in Austria.” At least a new company would then be possible, “but we are no longer in control of that, we are quitting,” he says, taking the responsibility off the board, which is retiring after 20 years. This consisted of people of retirement age and people in the middle of their working lives. “It is necessary to address the youth,” suggested Schuster. Maybe a new movement is needed.