This year, the Leon Zelman Prize for Dialogue and Understanding has been awarded to cultural mediator Hannah Landsmann. Landsmann, “through her many years of extensive mediation work, makes a significant contribution to raising public awareness when it comes to Jewish culture,” so goes the jury’s assessment.Read more

In November, Maria Gabrielsen was in Vienna at the invitation of the ESRA Psychosocial Health Center and Jewish Welcome Service to talk about her life at the Jewish Museum. Gabrielsen is one of the “Schwarz children” who were denounced by their mother and deported by the Nazis to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. She and her six siblings survived the Holocaust. She wrote about her experiences in the book “Angezeigt von Mama – Die Geschichte einer Denunziation” (Metropol Verlag).Read more

In November, more than 40 Jews – mostly members of the “Second Generation” – visited Vienna at the invitation of the Jewish Welcome Service. Among those welcoming the group were City Councilor for Culture Veronica Kaup-Hasler at Vienna City Hall and Federal Minister Karoline Edtstadler at the Federal Chancellery.
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At the end of August, the Viennese daily newspaper Der Standard reviewed the commemorative publication released in December 2021 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Jewish Welcome Service. Der Standard writer Gregor Auenhammer took his article as an opportunity to also provide information about the responsibilities and significance of the JWS.
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In September, Professor Jacob “Kobi” Metzer visited the Aron Menczer educational campus on the Aspanggründe in Vienna’s 3rd district at the invitation of the JWS. “Kobi” Metzer is an Israeli economic historian and nephew of Aron Menczer. He was accompanied by his grandson Yoav. The school’s dedicated team of teachers and students gave the guests a particularly warm welcome.
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The prestigious Leon Zelman Prize for Dialogue and Understanding is awarded every fall. This year, the award went to historian Michaela Raggam-Blesch, who received the prize at a ceremony in mid-September at Vienna City Hall. The award was presented by Peter Florianschütz, Member of the Provincial Parliament and City Councilor, representing the Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig.
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