Saudi-Backed School in Vienna Shut Over Anti-Semitic Books
A Saudi-backed school in Vienna that allegedly used an anti-Jewish textbook was ordered to close after it refused to disclose information about its staff.
The Austrian capital’s school board announced Tuesday that it decided to shut down the Saudi School Vienna after it ignored a Dec. 1 deadline to provide the names of its teaching and administrative staff. Supplying a list of staff is a basic requirement for all private schools in Austria.
The school had earlier stirred controversy following media reports that it used an anti-Jewish book in classes. The book allegedly describes Freemasons as “a Jewish, secret, subversive organization focused on guaranteeing control of the world by Jews,” according to The Associated Press. Vienna’s school board is investigating the allegations.
“We have also asked the school to supply us with a translation of all teaching materials,” Matias Meissner, a spokesman for the school board, told the French news agency AFP.
The Arabic-language school, which has been open for approximately a decade, has about 160 students. It has four weeks to appeal the decision before being forced to close at the end of the school year.
According to reports, the school has financial backing from Saudi Arabia. The reports, however, do not make clear the funding sources.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!