Insulted in a post

“Complete Idiot”: Influencer Drags Elderly Woman to Court

Towa Lemberger with her defense attorney Klaus Ainedter(Bild: Zwefo)

Although he himself is no stranger to ranting online, a more or less well-known influencer and Palestine activist filed a private lawsuit against a Jewish woman from Vienna. The woman must appear in court on Monday—the circumstances are quite explosive.

While official Austria commemorates the November pogroms of 1938 on Monday, Towa Lemberger must take her place in the defendant’s dock at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court. She has been dragged before the judge by a so-called influencer who feels insulted by the new grandmother. In fact, in a lengthy Facebook post, the Viennese woman referred to him, among other things, as a “complete idiot” and “stupid.” The bone of contention was a post by the pro-Palestine activist from last July, in which he accused Israel of genocide and called for support for Gaza.

Based on previous case law, we must assume a guilty verdict despite the strong arguments on our side. Action is needed here.

Strafverteidiger Klaus Ainedter nimmt die Politik in die Pflicht

“It wasn’t particularly polite”
The defendant—whose father was a Mauthausen survivor and who herself witnessed the attack by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, in Israel firsthand—was outraged by the nonsense and let herself be carried away into making the insult. And she stands by it: “When Israel is accused of genocide across the board, while the massacres committed by Hamas are downplayed, it leaves me speechless. Perhaps my words weren’t particularly polite. But I reacted spontaneously because this accusation deeply outraged me,” Lemberger told the “Krone.”

I want to help protect others from being pressured or silenced by unjustified lawsuits.

Die Angeklagte, Towa Lemberger 

Her attorney also expects his client to face a conviction: “Based on previous case law, we must assume a guilty verdict despite having strong arguments on our side,” explains Klaus Ainedter. And yet, there is much more at stake in this trial. Ainedter: “The flood of such serial private lawsuits is paralyzing our courts, which are already operating at their limit. Of course, the internet must not be a legal vacuum, but there is still a need for action. Because lawsuits like these are filed solely out of greed.”  

The plaintiff is no stranger to the spotlight. He referred to Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisiger as “Beate Genocide Cleaner” and got off with a diversionary sentence. He himself is no stranger to hurling tirades at others, yet in this case, he’s proving to be thin-skinned. There is now a business model behind lawsuits like this one. The motto: Sue and cash in—even from new grandmothers, if necessary...