Brussels, November 25, 2020–European Jewish Congress president Dr. Moshe Kantor has expressed outrage after the Austrian Freedom Party appointed former foreign affairs spokesman Johannes Hübner to the Bundesrat, which is the equivalent of Austria’s Senate. In 2017 Hübner aborted an attempt to run for parliament after an anti-Semitic comment he shared at a far-right event in Germany the previous year was aired.

“The Freedom Party have claimed that they have left their anti-Semitic past behind them and have recently tried to revive their reputation, but this appointment represents a huge step backwards,” Dr. Kantor said. “It is unconscionable that a renowned anti-Semite would be given such a respectable position.”

“We call on the Freedom Party to rescind this decision and to once again turn away from its sordid anti=Semitic past,” Kantor concluded.

Oskar Deutsch, president of the Jewish community of Vienna, added: “The political return of Mr. Hübner is a confirmation of the lack of credibility of the Freedom Party. This is exactly what happened with Udo Landbauer who resigned after his student fraternity’s Nazi song books were seized and then came back as a regional party leader.”