I had the opportunity to interview Karoline Edtstadler, who was appointed Federal Minister for the EU and Constitution at the Federal Chancellery under Kurz II by President Alexander Van der Bellen in January 2020.

Karoline lives in Vienna although she is originally from Saltzburg, she is young and very well prepared. We were supposed to meet in person on my last trip to Vienna a few weeks ago, but at the last moment she had to leave town, so we promised each other to do a zoom interview.

Why interview Karoline? Because she is very much an exception in the ministry in Austria for her devotion to the Jewish cause and protecting the Jews living in Vienna. Vienna is an incredible town full of synagogues, kosher restaurants, and Jewish schools.

The Jewish community is strong and flourishing, yet the youth has to be trained on how to face all kinds of antisemitic attacks, especially on social media which has become the most potent weapon for this generation. The need to understand that antizionism is antisemitism and these two go together although when discussed in the media they are given two different explanations.

Walking through the streets of Vienna as much as it is a beautiful city, you can almost hear still the steps of the Nazi soldiers walking through the large streets looking for Jews, and those 65,000 names of those deported are inscribed in a memorial made of marble in the main synagogue.

Karoline promised to do all she can to fight antisemitism and work with the Jewish community for mutual respect and peace for all.

Karoline has been to Israel which she likes very much and has met with President Herzog she is looking forward to her next trip here very soon. It was a very refreshing conversation with a woman who knows her work and "feels" so much for the Jewish nation, we wish Karoline to continue her great work in Austria and looking forward to meeting her here in our studio.

Thank you, minister!