31st May 2013
His Excellency
Ambassador Emil Brix
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Austria
To the Court of St James

Re: Schlesinger divorce and custody case.

Your Excellency,

I take the liberty of sending you this letter in my capacity as Executive Secretary of the Conference of European Rabbis, a pan European NGO which congregates all of the continents Chief Rabbis as well as 800 community rabbis across Europe.

I am sure you are aware of the divorce and custody case currently ongoing in the Viennese family court , which involves an Austrian husband, a British wife and two children who are dual citizens of both Austria and the United Kingdom, all of whom are members of the Jewish faith.

Our organization is closely monitoring the development of this specific case due to its international nature coupled with the family’s religious affiliation.

We would be very grateful if you could please clarify what is being done in order to ensure that the case in question is given a satisfactory resolution.

We are under the impression that the case is not progressing as it should and that, as a consequence, the children are being deprived of some of their most basic human rights.

Yours faithfully,

Rabbi Elimelech Vanzetta
Executive Secretary