Police are continuing enquiries after a fifteen-year-old was arrested on suspicion of stabbing an Orthodox Jew in the city on Saturday night. The man’s condition, initially life-threatening, has reportedly since stabilised.
This content was published on
3 minutes
SRF
Investigations by Zurich cantonal police and the juvenile prosecutor’s office have explicitly included the possibility of an anti-Semitic motive, police announced during the night of Saturday to Sunday.
The background and course of events were unclear at the time of the announcement. The attack took place in Zurich’s District 2. At 9.35 pm, a police operations centre received reports of an argument between several people.
The police and the juvenile prosecutor’s office are investigating in all directions. The Zurich city police promised further information on Sunday morning.
Jehuda Spielman, a city councillor for the city of Zurich, knows the man who was attacked, he said on social media platform X. His condition has since “stabilised”, Spielman wrote.
In a statement, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) said it was “deeply shocked that a member of the community was the victim of such an attack”.
The security organisations of the Jewish community in Zurich and throughout Switzerland have been informed, the SIG said. Security arrangements would be reviewed, as is customary in such a case, and adjusted if necessary. The SIG expressed its condolences to the victim and his family.
Rising anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitic incidents have increased in Switzerland since the Hamas attack in Israel in October 2023 and the war in the Middle East. The Intercommunal Coordination Centre against Anti-Semitism and Defamation (CICAD) recently published figures showing that incidents motivated by anti-Semitism increased by 68% in French-speaking Switzerland in 2023. Almost half of these occurred after October 7.
At the beginning of February, the Swiss government said it planned to work with the 26 cantons to develop a strategy and an action plan against racism and anti-Semitism. It will also examine whether a new commissioner for combating racism and anti-Semitism should be appointed.
Translated from German by DeepL/dos
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.
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.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Man charged with flying drone at women’s Euro 2025
This content was published on
A man flew a drone around the venue on Wednesday evening during the first match of the Women's EURO 2025 in St. Gallen. The 30-year-old violated the absolute ban on flying during match days. He was reported to the police.
More than 250 Swiss companies sign CO2 reduction initiative
This content was published on
A total of 257 companies from Switzerland have signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In doing so, they are committing to CO2 reduction targets that are compatible with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Swiss accident prevention group sees federal targets at risk
This content was published on
The Swiss government's target for accident figures is at risk, reckons Mario Cavegn, member of the executive board of the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention.
Feminicide: Swiss justice minister calls for electronic monitoring
This content was published on
Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans has called for electronic monitoring and an ankle bracelet warning system for perpetrators of violence against women.
This content was published on
American artist Chaka Khan ‘and friends’ opened the 59th Montreux Jazz Festival on Friday. For over three hours, their show, dedicated to their friend and mentor Quincy Jones, thrilled the audience,
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.