The end of 2009 has been marked by a number of significant achievements in the field of restitution and expansion of existing programs: in December, the Austrian Federal Government, the Federal Provinces, as well as the Vienna Jewish Community (IKG) reached an agreement to ensure the restoration and maintenance of the 63 Jewish cemeteries in Austria for the next 20 years. As of August 1, 2009, Austrian retirement benefits for Holocaust survivors have been expanded.

Furthermore, we are happy to provide you with a broad range of articles on recent cultural highlights and news on the Jewish Community Vienna that were published in the Austrian media, including the recent inauguration of a new campus of the Jewish Community in Vienna, a modern home for the elderly.

Finally we have included a few articles on a recent exchange of visits between Austria and Israel.


Yours sincerely,


Wolfgang Renezeder
Director of the Press & Information Service
Embassy of Austria


Fischer: Austria has lost part of its identity through the expulsion of the Jewish people – senior home concludes the building of the complex in Vienna’s Leopoldstadt.

Vienna – Vienna’s Jewish Community (IKG) is working the next few years on the goal of inviting Jewish citizens from abroad to come to Austria to live. “When the crisis has calmed down somewhat and we again are back to normal economic growth, the religious community will begin trying to provide possibilities for immigration within controlled parameters,” said Jewish Community President Arial Muzicant in an interview with the Austrian Press Agency. The conflict with the Wiesenthal Institute has meanwhile been resolved, and also a solution to the question of Jewish cemeteries is currently within view.

After a turbulent year, the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) is taking an important step towards full operation. In February the go-ahead will be given for digitalization of the documents made available by the Jewish Community of Vienna (IKG).