Austrian officials seize weapons destined for Germany’s far-right

Austrian authorities have seized a large cache of weapons and ammunition that were intended to be sold to far-right extremists in Germany. Police raids in recent days led to the seizure of 70 automatic and semi-automatic firearms, more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition and explosives, officials said. The main suspect is a 53-year-old Austrian, interior […]

Second Austrian far-right group has anti-Semitic songbook – newspaper

A second Austrian student fraternity has a songbook containing anti-Semitic lyrics making fun of the Holocaust and insulting Jews, a newspaper said on Tuesday, three weeks after it exposed a similar case that forced a far-right politician to quit. The earlier case reported by Falter prompted the resignation of a prominent member of the anti-Islam Freedom […]

Europeans turn to weapons in growing numbers after attacks

Europeans in a number of countries are seeking to arm themselves with guns and self-defence devices in growing numbers following a series of attacks by militants and the mentally ill. Some weapons sellers also link their increased business to the arrival of huge numbers of migrants in Europe, although a German police report stated that […]

Far-right Austrian leader visits Israel’s Holocaust memorial

The leader of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, Heinz-Christian Strache, visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem on Tuesday, laying a wreath under the engraved names of towns in Austria from where Jews were expelled by the Nazis. He said anti-Semitism had no place in his party and urged a common front against Islamists. Strache’s […]

Vandals daub swastikas and racist slogans on Jewish and Muslim graves in Austria

Vandals daubed swastikas and anti-migrant slogans on Muslim and Jewish graves over the weekend in western Austria. The perpetrators targeted the graves and building of a Jewish cemetery in the town of Hohenems, near the Swiss border. Police sources confirmed that swastikas appeared on its walls. Swastikas and racist graffiti also appeared at a Muslim cemetery in the nearby municipality of Altach. Police are linking this case to an earlier spate of vandalism against a refugee hostel and Jewish museum two weeks ago. Swastikas appeared on walls of the Jewish district, including the Jewish museum. The phrase “Stop the asylum flood” appeared on a refugee hostel. Hohenems mayor, Richard Amman, had recently received a letter from far-right extremists. He is also in a legal battle over the disputed mayoral elections with a candidate from the far-right Freedom Party (FPO). The FPO had claimed victory with 43.3 per cent; but a runoff secured Amman’s election with the smallest of margins. Back in Feburary, swastikas were daubed on the walls of a Vienna mosque,  as Austria prepared for its official Pegida-inspired march. Other recent incidents of Islamophobia and antisemitsm in Austria included an assault on two Jewish men, which included shouts of [...]

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