Olmert meets Fischer
Photo: Moshe Milner, GPO
Fischer at Yad Vashem
Photo: Reuters
Olmert on Iran: We must learn from history
Prime minister tells visiting Austrian president that 'we must not allow situation in which leader of a country carries speech on UN stage in which he calls for destruction of another country and receives a round of applause'
"We must learn from history and certainly not allow a situation in which a leader of a country carries a speech on a UN stage in which he calls for the destruction of another country, and receives a round of applause," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said
Monday.
Olmert spoke to Austrian President Heinz Fischer, and described to him the Israeli-Palestinian political process. He also stressed the need for enforcing the sanctions imposed on Iran in the attempt to stop its nuclear program.
Presidential Meeting
Roni Sofer
Austria's President Heinz Fischer says his country should speak openly about its past and draw conclusions for the present. Both leaders stress importance of continued cooperation between countries
The prime minister reminded Fischer of the anniversary of the Kristallnacht, which was memorialized in Israel and Austria a few weeks ago, and claimed that, had the world been more aware of the signs, the tragedy may have been avoided.
He added that a similar tragedy could still be instigated by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has been calling for the obliteration of Israel.
Earlier Fischer and his wife Margaret visited Yad Vashem together with President Shimon Peres. The couple was moved by the museum, and Margaret Fischer cried when they reached an exhibit on Austria's role in the Holocaust.
Heinz Fischer wrote in the museum guest book that he had come to Yad Vashem in the name of the Republic of Austria, and that the disaster that had befallen six million Jews should never be forgotten. He wrote that the world should educate future generations on human rights and respect for mankind, and against anti-Semitism and racism.
Fischer will receive an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University Tuesday, for his "determined commitment to promote peace and democracy, and his efforts to compensate Holocaust survivors during his time with the Austrian Compensation Fund."
