Austria’s new interior minister accused of antisemitism

BERLIN (AP) — A Nobel laureate in literature, Jewish students and other prominent figures in Austria want the country’s new interior minister removed from office because of allegedly antisemitic comments he made more than a decade ago. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Monday that he regrets what he said during an election campaign back then, but he rejected allegations of antisemitism. According to German news weekly Der Spiegel, the conservative Karner once accused Austria’s center-left Social Democrats of working “against the country with gentlemen from America and Israel,” and described them as “climate poisoners.” Der Spiegel quoted a spokesperson for the minister as saying Karner was referring to suspected “dirty campaigning” by an Israeli political adviser.