Security fund for religious minorities doubled for 2024

The government provides funds for the security of religious minority groups and financial support was doubled for this year KEYSTONE/© KEYSTONE / ENNIO LEANZA

How safe are religious minority groups in Switzerland? This is a question that has been of particular concern since an Orthodox Jewish man was attacked in Zurich at the beginning of March.

The government annually provides financial support for the security of religious minorities, and at the end of 2023, contributions for this year were suddenly doubled to CHF5 million ($5.7 million), money that has now been distributed to organisations, the Federal Office of Police Fedpol confirmed.

Jonathan Kreutner, secretary general of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), said this money was urgently needed: “Without this increase, Jewish organisations probably would have collapsed under the strain, and that would have been devastating in view of the security situation as it is today. So, a measure that is essential for the protection of the Jewish community has really been approved in the nick of time.”

Jewish organisations in particular benefit from the funds: 32 of the 34 organisations supported are Jewish religious communities. Two organisations are Muslim religious communities, which are also affected by discrimination and hostility. According to Fedpol, a total of CHF4.7 million is available for 2024.

Surveillance cameras and security personnel

The government has been providing financial support for the security of religious minority groups since 2020, initially only towards structural measures on buildings or technical measures such as surveillance cameras. After two years, however, the contributions were increased for the first time, and from then on money was also made available for ongoing security costs such as security personnel at events.

According to Kreutner, ongoing security costs are a particular burden for Jewish institutions. “We are pleased that most applications submitted for these running costs have also been granted in terms of the amount of funding, because these are ultimately very expensive,” he said.

In addition to the government, the cantons have also increased their support and security measures, said Kreutner, which in combination enables Jewish communities to cover their security costs after having had to pay for them themselves for a long time.

Adapted from German by DeepL/kp/amva

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