Wiesenthal Center Calls for Dismissal of Newly-Appointed Austrian Director of Carinthian "Office for the Protection of the Constitution" Who Attended Ultra-Right Gatherings as a Participant

Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today called for the immediate dismissal of Stephan Tauschitz, the recently-appointed director of the Carinthian Office for the Protection of theConstitution after it was revealed that he had participated in the right-wing extremist Ulrichsberg meetings in Carinthia several times and had even appeared there once as a speaker.

In a letter sent today to the Austrian ambassador to Israel Hannah Liko by its Israel director Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center urged the Austrian authorities to replace Tauschitz, and takeappropriate action against those responsible for his appointment.

According to Zuroff:

"I don't think that I have to explain to you why such an appointment is absurd in light of this information. How can Mr. Tauschitz perform his duties to combat right-wing extremism when hehimself obviously is sympathetic to these elements of Austrian society?

"In recent years, Austria has made considerable progress in confronting its Nazi past, but the appointment of Tauschitz is a grand step backward, which should be rectified immediately, with thoseresponsible for this unfortunate decision being held fully accountable.

"Please convey to the government our shock and sorrow, along with the hope that the necessary steps to undo the damage will be taken promptly."

For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center: Tel: 972-2-563-1274 or Tel: 972-50-721-4156, follow the Center on Facebook, or @simonwiesenthal and @EZuroff fornews updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is anNGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).