A leader of Switzerland’s Jewish community is demanding “concrete” action after the weekend stabbing of an Orthodox Jewish man, allegedly by a teenager pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group.
The 50-year-old Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed and seriously injured in Switzerland’s largest city, Zurich, late Saturday, authorities said.
“The fact that such an event has not caused a national outcry is a real problem, because it brings to light a lack of awareness of how serious the situation is,” says Johanne Gurfinkiel, leader of Intercommunity Coordination Against Anti-Semitism and Defamation.
Gurfinkiel says there has been a “massive” rise in antisemitic acts in Switzerland in recent years and that the number had shot up 68 percent in 2023 due to the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We now expect more concrete measures, for example, for the president [of Switzerland] to call an emergency meeting with representatives of the groups concerned to hear their expectations and suggestions,” he is quoted as saying in an interview with daily newspaper Arc Info.
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Wednesday, March 6, 2024
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