Geneva Jews want action over racist attacks

The Holocaust memorial outside the Grand Synagogue in Geneva Keystone

Jews in Geneva want the police to consider stepping up protection of Jewish buildings and the community after what they say is a rise in anti-Semitic attacks.

The most recent incident, which took place last weekend, saw the Grand Synagogue in Geneva defaced with swastikas and neo-Nazi slogans.

A memorial in front of the synagogue to the millions of Jews who died in the Nazi death camps was spray-painted with the words: “Heil Hitler” and “Gas the Jews”.

“It’s not the first attack and it’s certainly not going to be last. But it’s a long time since we have seen so many anti-Semitic attacks,” said Johanne Gurfinkiel, general secretary of the Geneva-based Intercommunity Centre for Coordination against Anti-Semitism and Defamation.

“We are not being paranoid – we are just expressing what is going on out there. Fortunately we have not had anyone hurt or killed.”

The centre recorded 34 anti-Semitic attacks in western Switzerland last year, ranging from offensive graffiti and attacks on Jewish buildings to verbal assaults and anonymous letters denying the Holocaust.

In a report published last month, the organisation called on the authorities to take a firmer line on anti-Semitism, especially in terms of cracking down on extremist websites.

Sabine Simkhovitch-Dreyfus, president of the Jewish Community of Geneva, told swissinfo that there had been a clear increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the past five to ten years.

Security issue

Simkhovitch-Dreyfus said Jewish communities were increasingly having to shoulder the burden of protecting buildings and people.

In Geneva, as in other cantons, the Jewish community employs armed security guards and has been doing so for several years.

“We have a good relationship with the police, but they have staffing problems and this is a problem that most Jewish communities and other institutions that need protection face in Switzerland,” said Simkhovitch-Dreyfus.

“Resources need to be adapted from time to time to evolving needs, and in the present context a review needs to be carried out.

“Our main objective in terms of protection is the population and in particular Jews who attend religious services and other events. This is something we are trying to share with the police.”

Patrick Puhl, spokesman for canton Geneva police, said patrols in the area around the Grand Synagogue had been increased following the attack.

But he added that it was unlikely that more would be done to protect the Jewish community.

“We have to police the whole of Geneva and there are other areas of the city that need to be protected,” said Puhl.

“We cannot take specific measures for some [communities] and not for others. We base all our decisions on the level of danger that exists.”

“But we are taking this seriously and we will do our best to respond to their needs,” he added.

Firebombing

Last weekend’s attack on the Grand Synagogue comes a month after the firebombing of a synagogue and a Jewish-owned fabric shop in the city of Lugano in the southern canton of Ticino.

Jewish leaders have been less than happy with the response from Ticino prosecutor Rosa Item who dismissed anti-Semitism as a motive, claiming the attacker – a former Lugano bus driver – was mentally unstable.

The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities has now written to Item, criticising her for being too quick to rule out anti-Semitism.

“We have the impression that the nature of these attacks is somehow downplayed – like the murder of the rabbi in Zurich in 2001 – in that each time it’s blamed on someone who is mentally unstable and not anti-Semitic,” said Simkhovitch-Dreyfus.

“Whatever the mental state of someone, it is too much of a coincidence that a synagogue and the business of an Orthodox Jew were attacked on the same night.”

Cantonal police matter

The Federal Police Office underlined that protection of Jewish buildings and the country’s Jewish community was a cantonal police matter and that it was up to the relevant authorities to decide if security should be stepped up.

Alfred Donath, president of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, told swissinfo that it was too early to say whether the recent attacks on synagogues marked the beginning of a new wave of anti-Semitism in Switzerland.

But he echoed Simkhovitch-Dreyfus, saying attacks against Jews and Jewish buildings had increased over the past decade.

“There is an increased threat compared with five to ten years ago. There are definitely more incidents but so far we are not on a par with what is happening in France or Belgium,” he said.

“But there has been an increase – that’s clear. What happened in Geneva has never happened before.”

Johanne Gurfinkiel at the Intercommunity Centre for Coordination against Anti-Semitism and Defamation said it was clear that more efforts were now needed to educate the public and to preach the virtues of tolerance.

“I am worried about the number of young people, teenagers, who are expressing extreme rightwing ideologies,” he said. “We have had some problems in Geneva where far-right activists have been trying to recruit in schools.”

swissinfo, Adam Beaumont

Key facts

March 13: Lugano synagogue and Jewish-owned fabric shop firebombed.
March 24: Ticino prosecutor announces arrest of arsonist but rules out anti-Semitism as a motive.
April 17: Great Synagogue in Geneva defaced with neo-Nazi graffiti.

In brief

Jews in Geneva are calling for more police protection in the wake of last weekend’s attack on the Great Synagogue and a Holocaust memorial.

Last month a synagogue and a Jewish-owned business were firebombed on the same night in Lugano.

The Federal Police Office says it is up to individual cantons to decide whether tougher measures are needed.