Attack on synagogue

Press, 2 September 1981, Page 20

Attack on synagogue

The attack on the synagogue in Vienna on Saturday in which two people were killed and 20 were injured was a particularly nasty event. Had the attack been directed against a single person it would have been bad enough. It appears to have been directed at a group of people just because they were Jews. It was also an attack made at a place of worship. Who the terrorists were is not yet clear, though the reports so far suggest that they were Arabs and not part of any anti-Semitic movement. Because the terrorists were Arabs, suspicion must fall on one of the Palestinian groups. The attack has all the indications of having been made by one of the more extreme groups.

The leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organisation has condemned the attack and denied that the P.L.O. had any part in it. The condemnation and denial may be taken at face value. The P.L.0., at the moment, has a great deal to lose by such an attack. In the first place the attack was in Austria, which maintains friendly relations with the P.L.O. The P.L.O. is, for the present at least, bent on gaining world recognition. An attack in an important country which' has given it much of the recognition it seeks would be bound to alienate opinion in that country and would be likely to dissuade other countries from following Austria’s example.

Austria is also the host to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, some members of which are financial supporters of the P.L.O. Such links are 'invaluable to the P.L.0., which

would want to do nothing to imperil them. The P.L.O. would not win any acclaim from the Arab countries for attacking a synagogue. Most of the Arab countries have Jewish as well as other religious and ethnic minorities. The secret of maintaining domestic harmony, in these countries is to avoid, at all costs, stirring up religious or ethnic animosities. Austria is in a complicated position. While it allows the P.L.O. to have offices in Austria, it also provides a refuge to Soviet Jews, many of whom eventually emigrate to Israel, even though the P.L.O. bitterly opposes such migration. Austria is a neutralist country and attempts, as hard as any country, to make its neutralism a useful virtue. The Chancellor, Mr Bruno Kreisky, has sought to negotiate between the P.L.O. and Israel. He is convinced that Israel takes too rigid a stand against the Palestinians. For its part, Israel has criticised Austria for according the status that it does to the P.L.O. and has argued that by doing this Austria encourages attacks against Jews.

If, as seems likely, the attack in Vienna was made by an extremist Arab group against some Jews, it is another tragic example of how the Arab-Israeli conflict can spread to other countries. The terrorists who attacked some people going about their business of a religious ceremony will doubtless be tried and punished for what they did. The cure for the problem lies not in Austria but between the Arab countries and Israel in the Middle East.