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ABSTRACT
This article describes the political and personal duel between Golda Meir and Bruno Kreisky. In 1973, the two Socialist statesmen of Jewish origin clashed over the issue of Palestinian terrorism directed against Jewish transit via Vienna, triggering an almost decade-long bilateral crisis between Israel and Austria. For the purpose of better understanding the roots of their animosities, this paper traces and compares the biographies and mind-sets of the two heads of state, arguing that it was the Inner-Jewish divide between Zionist and Diaspora Jews that led to bitter personal and political conflict between Golda Meir and Bruno Kreisky.
"THE ZIONIST LIONESS AND THE LAST HABSBURG EMPEROR": INTRODUCTION
In the 1970s, Golda Meir did not fit everyone's idea of a head of state, yet her powerful beliefs and charisma turned her into an Israeli leader and an icon of her time. The same is true for one of her contemporaries from another small country: the Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky. Both Meir and Kreisky fundamentally influenced their nations' history and their fame and power stretched far beyond the borders of their countries. Their personal styles not only transformed them into political leaders, but also earned them various nicknames: "The Iron Lady" of the Middle East was referred to as a "Zionist Lioness" or the only "man" in David Ben-Gurion's cabinet,1 whereas Kreisky was often described as the "Sun Chancellor" or even "the last Habsburg emperor".2 What these labels also suggest is that both statesmen were known for their firm political commitments and their strong-mindedness rather than their emotionality; yet when they actually had to deal with one another directly in 1973, the situation escalated into an emotional and personal conflict that brought their countries to the brink of bilateral crisis.
The article takes a closer look at, what I term, a political and personal "duel" between Golda Meir and Bruno Kreisky. After explaining the details of the incident that sparked this duel, it argues that it was the Inner-Jewish divide between Zionist and Diaspora Jews that derailed the two leaders from their usual diplomatic pragmatism, and that led to bitter conflict between the two politicians and their countries. For the purpose of better understanding the roots of Meir's and Kreisky's apparent animosities, I trace and...