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Calls are mounting on the Austrian Freedom Party (FPO) to expel a member of its parliamentary party over anti-semitic comments made on Facebook.

Susanne Winter, a member of the right-wing party publicly agreed with comments posted to her Facebook page, alleging a conspiracy of wealthy pro-Israel Jews to destroy the world. The initial comment by Oehlmann Hans- Jörg blamed the “Zionist money Jews” for global problems, “particularly rich Zionist Jews in the USA.”

Winter’s response read, “It is great. You took the words right out of my mouth. There are a lot of things that I am not allowed to write. Therefore I’m even more pleased with courageous, independent people.”

The Facebook exchange has since been deleted, but mounting criticism forced Winter to issue a proceeding statement in which she claimed, “For me anti-Semitic ideas have always been repugnant and I don’t support these ideas... I apologize for letting the statements of this visitor to remain on my page instead of immediately deleting them. Yes, that was a mistake, but every person makes mistakes.”

Winter has been in Parliament since 2008, gaining popularity recently with anti-immigrant sentiment and rhetoric. The FPO has called for a border fence to be built around Austria.

The newest wave of refugees from places like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan has sparked a fervor among European parliaments and citizens. Anti-immigrant, right-wing extremism is rampant, with the Austrian parliament currently proposing a new law aimed at keeping Afghans out of the country.

The law would force refugees from Afghanistan to wait three years to bring family members to Austria, instead of the current one year waiting period. It would also force families to have independent income, health insurance and an apartment before legally being allowed to bring their family.

The UNHCR reports at least 264,000 asylum seekers in 38 European countries in 2014, a 24 percent increase from the previous year. The actual number of refugees is higher.

While Israeli and American news media is perturbed at Winter’s use of anti-semitic tropes--an undeniably racist incident--they continue a semantic tryst regarding the refugee crisis in Europe.

Instead of calling the masses entering Europe refugees, mainstream news media considers them migrants. Let’s not mince words. Calling the refugees migrants suggests these people and families are seeking work primarily. It boldly rejects the fact that the Afghanis, Syrians, Iraqis, Eritreans and Somalis are fleeing war and turmoil in their home countries. They have legal refugee status under international law and are entitled to seek asylum.

Still worse, yet essentially missing from coverage, is the fact that in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq where DAESH has gained a strong foothold to impose their brutality on the people, NATO, with support from the Israeli government, is directly responsible for the destabilization.

Calls for Winter’s resignation came from the major Jewish community in Austria as well as fellow MPs. Winter was a member of the Austria-Israel parliamentary group.

A board member of the group Stefan Schaden told the Jerusalem Post on Sunday, “An Austrian member of parliament in 2015 has just proudly admitted that she has an anti-Semitic world view when she said on Facebook that the expression ‘Zionist money Jews’ is something that could come from her mouth. Further this anti-Semitic expression also shows her hatred for Israel as she explicitly agreed to the notion that Israeli Jews run the world.”

Anti-semitism is abhorrent, it must be said again and again. But so is anti-Arab sentiment, and racism in general, which both the Israeli government and media, as well as the Austrian Freedom Party are guilty of. MP Winter has a right to write and say what she wants, it is the job of the media to contextualize.

While the Jerusalem Post, the Times of Israel, Ynet and other Israeli media decry the blatant racism and hostility shown by Winter against Jews, the assaults on Palestinians continue daily, with little mention in the Israeli press.