Graz opens Austria’s first Jewish cultural centre

Austria’s first Jewish cultural centre opened in Graz on Thursday, providing a permanent venue for Jewish culture and discussions on social and political issues, ORF reported.

The Milton Weber Cultural Centre was developed from plans first drawn up in 2021. The project was implemented with support from the provincial government. It is named after Milton Franklin Weber, a musician and conductor from Graz.

At the opening ceremony, attended by Styrian Governor Mario Kunasek and Graz Mayor Elke Kahr, Elie Rosen, president of the Jewish community, called for a return to open political debate. He criticised the demonisation of political opponents in Austria and Germany, as well as claims by parts of the political left to represent democracy exclusively.

Rosen said the constitution, rather than party membership, should be the standard. Political firewalls that replace independent thought would not protect democracy, he said, but instead endanger it.

Weber converted to Judaism and suffered persecution under the Nazis before starting a new life in the United States. His name, Rosen said, stood for loyalty, resilience and the freedom to hold one’s own convictions.

The centre aims to bring together music, literature, history and social and political debate. It should not dictate what people must think, Rosen said, but help them develop independent views.

Its opening programme includes two exhibitions by French photographer Ouriel Morgensztern. One, “A Journey Around the World,” uses photographs to document the state of Jewish communities in cities where they have been rebuilt and in places where Jewish life has almost disappeared. The second, “Israel at Home,” presents the diversity of life in Israel and its cultural and religious heritage, including the architecture of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.