In the 1970s, Bruno Kreisky sought a role as mediator in the Middle East conflict and called for a Palestinian state, which caused disputes with the Israelis.

In 2023, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg announced “we have entered into a strategic, extremely close relationship with Israel that can no longer be undone”.

However, after a growing Jewish community had formed, the Jews were expelled from the Duchy of Austria by Albrecht V of Habsburg in 1420/21, as he accused them of collaborating with the Hussites.

It was not until Emperor Joseph II issued the Patent of Toleration in 1782 as part of the Josephinian reforms that the situation of the Jewish minority improved and the emancipation of the Jews in the Habsburg Monarchy began.

In the 19th century, thanks to the improved legal situation, many Jews achieved social advancement and many of their members began to play a leading role in science, culture and business.

Anti-Semitism in Austria intensified due to the important role of Jews in national economic life and demagogic politicians such as Karl Lueger polemicized against the Jewish minority, which also influenced Adolf Hitler.

A large proportion of the Jews in the former Habsburg territories of Central and Eastern Europe also died as a result of the German extermination policy.

This laid the foundation for the subsequent establishment of consular relations between the two countries and the de jure recognition of Israel by Austria in the spring of 1950, although mutual confirmation of this did not take place until two years later.

The two sides finally reached an agreement in September 1952 and Israel waived all claims in return for a further trade credit of 100 million schillings.

At the end of the 1960s, Austria, which was neutral during the Cold War, acted as a hub for the emigration of 270,000 Jews from the Soviet Union to Israel.

This decision led to criticism from Israeli and US diplomats and strained relations with Israel, although Austria subsequently continued to act as a transit country for Jewish emigrants from the Eastern Bloc.

In 1975, Kreisky also spoke out in favour of the establishment of a State of Palestine as part of a mission by the Socialist International, while at the same time explicitly recognizing Israel's right to exist.

In 1993, Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky visited Israel and gave a historic speech at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in which he acknowledged Austria's responsibility for the Holocaust.