Rise in anti-Semitic incidents in French-speaking Switzerland

Johanne Gurfinkiel, secretary-general of the Intercommunity Coordination Against Anti-Semitism and Defamation (CICAD), has called for a firm response from the government to deal with incidents of anti-Semitism, but says it is slow in coming. © Keystone / Martial Trezzini

Reports of anti-Semitic incidents have increased in French-speaking Switzerland since the October 7 Hamas attack against Israel. A civil society group has urged the government to act firmly, noting a rise in incidents in schools.

Graffiti, slogans, demonstrations, desecration of graves – the European Commission has condemned a resurgence of anti-Semitic acts across Europe since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian war. “European Jews today are again living in fear,” it declaredExternal link on November 5.

“The spike of anti-Semitic incidents across Europe has reached extraordinary levels in the last few days, reminiscent of some of the darkest times in history,” said the Commission.

Switzerland is not spared this problem, though it is less visible than in France. By the end of October, the Intercommunity Coordination Against Anti-Semitism and Defamation (known by its French name CICAD) had recorded 146 anti-Semitic incidents in French-speaking Switzerland, mostly online. These were mainly in canton Geneva, followed by Vaud, said the group’s secretary-general Johanne Gurfinkiel.

Cases in schools

Reported cases had also occurred in schools, with Jewish pupils being singled out and called “murderers” or “killers”, the group said.

A mother told Swiss public television RTS how pupils had shouted abuse at her 10-year-old daughter. “A group of pupils in her class approached her. Knowing she has a Jewish last name, they began to provoke her, talking about ‘damned Jews’, and other slurs against Jews and Israel. She didn’t understand why they were talking to her like that,” she told RTS anonymously.

“Anti-Semitism has always been there, but it has been mild. Since October 7, the volume of incidents has gone up,” said a Geneva teenager, who confirmed an increase both on social media and at school.

“There is a constant fear there. You just don’t feel safe. We are lucky to have teachers and other people there for us, but there is just more fear,” she told RTS.

In Geneva, four cases involving schools have been reported to CICAD. But they are thought to be just the tip of the iceberg.

Response from government awaited

CICAD has called for a firm response from the government to deal with incidents of anti-Semitism, but says it is slow in coming. “We are struck by the fact that, although there are messages coming from individuals, overall, we are not hearing any messages from the cantonal government to reassure people, or express solidarity or firmness, especially given everything we have been seeing since October 7. Surely that would have been a simple thing to do,” Gurfinkiel told RTS.

The group says the situation is urgent. The CICAD secretary-general is due to meet Geneva’s education minister, Anne Hiltpold, who tried to reassure the organisation when she spoke to RTS.

“We are very concerned and attentive to the situation in our schools. I am, and so are the teachers. This concern is shared by the [Geneva] government. It is a cross-border concern because I have talked about it with my colleague in canton Vaud, Frédéric Borloz, and he is concerned too, we are all very concerned,” the minister said.

The authorities and relevant associations urge other victims to come forward to report cases.

Over 1,000 anti-Semitic incidents in France

In France, 1,159 anti-Semitic acts were reported and almost 500 people arrested between October 7 and November 8, according to the interior ministry. This is nearly three times more than all acts against French Jews in 2022. France has the largest Jewish population in Europe.

Paris police have recorded 257 anti-Semitic incidents over the past month in the greater urban area. Anti-Semitic graffiti has appeared regularly throughout the country, especially in schools.

A young Jewish woman was stabbed on November 4 at her home in Lyon, possibly with an “anti-Semitic motive”, according to the public prosecutor’s office.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, numerous political parties and citizens are to attend a march on Sunday November 12 to protest rising anti-Semitism in France. It was called by the leaders of the Senate and parliament’s lower house, the National Assembly. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is also due to attend.

Exacerbated by Middle East events

Reflecting on the rise in anti-Semitic incidents all over Europe, sociologist Michel Wieviorka told the RTS current affairs programme Forum that in France the tendency has been constantly “exacerbated” since the 1990s by events in the Middle East.

“We saw peaks of anti-Semitism in France two or three times when tension was running high in the Middle East,” he said.

But Wieviorka believes there is a new aspect to the current trend. “We don’t know yet who is really behind this anti-Semitism,” he noted.

“As long as it is fleeting, anonymous, happening on social media, it is hard to say who is behind it. But what we are starting to see – and this is worrying too – is acts of hostility that are more outspoken, such as anti-Semitic chanting by young people on the metro in Paris.”

Translated from French by Terence MacNamee