President of Austria's parliament presents former editor-in-chief Rath with award of distinction on behalf of Austria.
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENTAri Rath_311(photo credit: Courtesy)
BERLIN – Austria’s government honored Ari Rath, a former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday for his contribution to the Republic of Austria.Rath, who was born in Vienna in 1925, fled Austrian Nazism as a 13-year-old to the British mandate in Palestine. He served from 1975- 1989 as the Post’s joint editor-in-chief with Erwin Frenkel.
The president of Austria’s Parliament, Barbara Prammer, presented Rath with the award of distinction for his work on behalf of Austria and his efforts to foster a peaceful co-existence between Israelis and Palestinians. Prammer termed him one of the world’s “outstanding Journalists.” She added that he advocated good relations between Israel and Austria. The former Austrian chancellor Franz Vranitzky gave the keynote speech honoring Rath in Vienna.Rath started working at the Post in 1957. In addition to serving as the paper’s senior editor, he became the publisher in 1979. The 86-year-old Rath published a series of essays in 2005 as a book titled On The Way to Peace.The government of Austria – including the city of Vienna– previously awarded Rath several medals of distinction for his cultural and intellectual achievements.
