An Austrian Airlines flight attendant has been sacked with immediate effect after video emerged of the 23-year-old shouting anti-Semitic slogans at a demonstration in Vienna. Along with working as a flight attendant, Christina Kohl has been running in state and municipal council elections in the Austrian capital as a candidate for the right-wing populist party Alliance for Austria.
Video shared on social media of the right-wing political candidate showed her shouting “Soros must go” and “Rothschild must go” – George Soros is a Jewish billionaire investor and philanthropist who survived Nazi-occupied Hungary and who has been at the centre of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
The Rothschild family is a wealthy Jewish family who has also been the subject of many anti-Semitic conspiracy theories which typically suggest the family controls much of the world’s wealth.
Kohl was also caught on video shouting other slogans mired in conspiracy theories including “Illuminati must go” and “Antifa must go”. She is highly critical of Austria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and of “left-wing extremist groups”.
Shortly after the video emerged, Austrian Airlines terminated her employment with immediate effect.
“An employee of Austrian Airlines made public anti-Semitic statements as part of her political commitment,” a spokesperson for Austrian Airlines said of Kohl. “Our very clear statement is as follows: We are an international company that overcomes borders within the scope of its business purpose. Here, however, we have to draw a very clear line.”
“This behavior is inexcusable, and statements of this kind are in no way compatible with our company values. We have therefore taken appropriate measures to ensure that something like this does not happen again.”
Kohl, however, has denied she’s an anti-Semite and has vowed to fight her termination, saying the decision to sack her without notice could be illegal. She described criticism of her as “conviction terrorism”.
The fact that she was fired without notice, she argued, shows “how things are going with freedom of expression in our country”.
“I will continue to express my opinion and challenge this unjustified dismissal,” she continued.
Kohl is placed in 17th place on the ballot with little hope of being elected.
