Anti-Israel demonstrators scaled the towers of Vienna's Votive Church and placed Palestinian flags on the spire. The Archdiocese condemned the incident, hired a crew to remove the flags, and announced that they may take legal action.
In Vienna, anti-Israel demonstrators climbed the towers of the Votive Church, the city’s second tallest church, and attached two Palestine flags to its spires. The incident occurred during a protest and led the Archdiocese of Vienna to commission professional climbers and crane operators to remove the flags. Church spokesman Michael Prüller stated that the removal was “anything but a trivial undertaking” and emphasised, “There was no benevolent tolerance of the flags by the parish.” He added that the Archdiocese “protests in the strongest possible terms against such a political instrumentalisation of the church” and confirmed that legal action was under consideration. Local residents expressed irritation, with one commenter noting, “The church should not be abused for political messages.”
Update: subsequent reports confirmed that the climbing damaged the lightning rod and gilding of the towers, causing about €20,000 in property damage.