o.deutsch@ikg-wien.at
office@ikg-wien.at
Herr Deutsch,
I am writing to express my dismay over the reports of corruption in the Viennese Jewish community, specifically in regard to the Beth Alexander case.
In describing Adolph Eichmann, the philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote about "the banality of evil" - how "terrifyingly normal" the man responsible for so many horrors seemed.
Arendt's chilling words come to mind when I think about how Judge Susanne Gottlicher - who is responsible for depriving a sane, loving, capable mother of her twin sons - met community member Dr. Michael Schlesinger for tea and cakes before awarding him final custody of the boys. And the banality of evil comes to mind when I read about the chilling silence this case has been met with within the Viennese Jewish community.
(Yes, on the same soil where the Nazis ripped Jewish babies from their mothers' arms 80 years ago, the community remains comfortably silent as history repeats itself.)
In 2007, you stood before the community and said, "I listened carefully when my grandparents spoke about the Holocaust. Most of it was simply unimaginable, for a human being to have done to another human being. As a grown man I am incapable of comprehending how inhumanities as cruel as these could have occurred."
As a grandchild of survivors myself, I understand and agree. And while we can't undo the trauma of the Shoah, we can - and must - take a stance against the unspeakable cruelty that is being carried out today against a Jewish mother and her children.
As the leader of the community, you are in a unique position to help. And you have a unique responsibility to do just that.
Investigate the corruption (it is not hard to find). Apply pressure to the bad actors in this case. Let your voice be heard. Be a force of justice and morality.
I urge you to work to remove this great stain on your community's character, and the stain on your own good name.
Respectfully,
Paula Margulies Sion
Ra'anana, Israel
#reunitingbethwithhersons
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