The Interreligious Working Group in Switzerland IRAS COTIS, an association of 70 religious communities, has suffered a setback. The two Jewish representatives on the committee have decided to resign from the association in protest. They are demanding that President Rifa’at Lenzin take a clear stand on the Swiss-Palestinian Association (SPA).
The Secretary General of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), Jonathan Kreutner, confirmed to the Keystone-SDA press agency on Sunday the information published in an article in the NZZ am Sonntag. He criticised Rifa’at Lenzin for her links with the Swiss-Palestinian Association.
Since the Hamas attack on the Gaza Strip a month ago, the SPA’s position has apparently become more radical. The Jews of Switzerland are calling for an “unequivocal distancing from this orgy of violence and its perpetrators”.
“By refusing to withdraw from the association, Lenzin is legitimising the SPA’s position and statements of recent weeks”, continued Kreutner. In his view, this represents a fundamental breach of trust towards the Jewish community in Switzerland.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Alpine Environment
My grandmother has lived in the same Swiss village for 100 years
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
Bodycams: essential for good law enforcement, or a privacy risk?
Did you ever come across bodycams in your place of residence and if so, how do you think the use of bodycams alter the relationship between the public and (transport) police?
What can be done to protect biodiversity in your country?
Swiss voters are set to decide on a people’s initiative calling for better protection of ecosystems in the country. Have your say on the September 22 vote.
Swiss stock exchange launches climate index for listed companies
This content was published on
SIX, the financial group that runs the Swiss stock exchange, today announced the launch of a new index, the "SIX 1.5°C Climate Equity."
Risk of terror attack in Switzerland higher than before
This content was published on
The terrorist threat in Switzerland has increased since the beginning of the year, warns the Swiss Federal Intelligence Service.
Swiss homeowners ‘should contribute to earthquake insurance’
This content was published on
The Swiss government wants homeowners to shoulder a maximum 0.7% of the cost to insure buildings against severe earthquake damage.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.