I’ve always maintained that a very high bar be set for those who claim to have rejected objectionable opinions and ideologies. Once that requirement has been met, any further criticism should have to meet as similar standard in order to be taken seriously.
Israeli MP urges his country to drop its ‘absurd’ boycott of Austria’s foreign minister
Yehuda Glick, of Israel’s ruling right-wing Likud party, was speaking after a meeting with Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl during a visit to Vienna.
He said he also met Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) chief Heinz-Christian Strache earlier in the day, despite objections from the local Jewish community.
The Freedom Party’s entry into government in December prompted Israel to say it would not have direct contact with FPÖ ministers, including Kneissl who was nominated by the party even though she is not herself a member.
Glick said the boycott had led to the “absurd situation” where the Austrian ambassador in Israel was able to freely meet ministers there while the foreign minister was boycotted.
“Many of the opinions about Mrs Kneissl herself and about the Freedom Party are prejudiced,” Glick said, calling Kneissl “a true friend of Israel”.
“I will do every effort I can to try to convince the Israeli foreign ministry of the importance of strengthening the relationship with all the parties in Austria,” he said, while emphasising that he was not in Austria as an official representative of the Israeli government and did not want to meddle in Austrian politics.
