Critical Waldheim Letter Was a Fake, Jerusalem Post Says

JERUSALEM —  The Jerusalem Post admitted Friday that it published a fake letter from Austrian Foreign Minister Alois Mock to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher suggesting the resignation of Austrian President Kurt Waldeim.

In the letter, Mock was supposed to have agreed to a suggestion that Waldheim be persuaded to resign on health grounds, because allegations that he had hidden membership in a Nazi group and concealed his wartime activities hurt Austria.

Mock is also Austria’s vice chancellor and the leader of the right-wing Austrian People’s Party to which Waldheim belongs. Mock has denied writing the letter, and one of his aides said the foreign minister would start legal proceedings over its publication.

The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s English-language daily, said a lengthy inquiry had determined that the document, which it published in February, was a fabrication and that editor Ari Rath had expressed regret at its publication.