Relationship dossier
Austria
Israel
Relationship assessment
Close Austrian-Israeli partnership, with political tensions in its history
Austria toward Israel
+60Austria has maintained political and security cooperation with Israel, and the two governments established a strategic partnership in 2022. Austria also flew the Israeli flag after Hamas rocket attacks in 2021 and has supported Israel in international diplomacy.
Israel toward Austria
+50Israel has pursued a strategic partnership with Austria, formalized in a bilateral agreement in 2022. Israel restored full diplomatic relations after recalling its ambassador during Austria’s 2000 government crisis.
Overall relationship
+50The relationship has a durable cooperative foundation, including a strategic partnership and Austrian political support for Israel, alongside a historical sensitivity to Austria’s wartime past. Israel’s ambassador recall during Austria’s 2000 government crisis illustrates that bilateral ties can be affected by Austrian domestic politics.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Austria and Israel maintain a close relationship shaped by Austria’s stated responsibility for the Holocaust and sustained political and security cooperation. In 2022, the two governments established a strategic partnership. Austria has also taken visible diplomatic positions in support of Israel, including flying the Israeli flag after Hamas rocket attacks in 2021. Relations have nevertheless been affected by political disputes, notably Israel’s recall of its ambassador during Austria’s 2000 government crisis.
Areas of tension
- Israel recalled its ambassador in 2000 after the far-right Freedom Party entered Austria’s governing coalition.
Key developments
Austria and Israel established a strategic partnership to deepen bilateral cooperation.
Austria flew the Israeli flag after Hamas rocket attacks on Israel.
Israel recalled its ambassador after the Freedom Party entered Austria’s governing coalition; full diplomatic relations were restored in 2006.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the 2022 strategic partnership are unclear.
- The extent of current bilateral security cooperation is unclear.