The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG/FCSI) has denounced a ruling by the Swiss Federal Council against banning Nazi symbols.
In the 2021 winter session of the Swiss parliament, three motions were put forward calling for a ban on Nazi symbols and had the support of lawmakers from all parties.
But on February 2, in response to a request by MP Marianne Binder-Keller to take up the issue, the Federal Council – the seven-member executive council that constitutes the federal government – rejected a ban.
SIG/FCSI described the decision as incomprehensible.
“On the one hand, the Federal Council relies on previous rejections of similar proposals and states that it is hardly possible to distinguish between punishable and unpunishable behavior,” SIG/FCSI and the Platform of Liberal Jews of Switzerland (PLJS) said in a joint statement. “We had expected the Federal Council to keep up with the times and consider changing its previous position.”
“On the other hand, the Federal Council points out that these symbols should still be able to be used in a historical, educational, journalistic or artistic context. A look at the legal situation in Germany and other countries shows that this would be possible even with a ban,” they continued.
The statement criticized the Federal Council’s opinion that prevention works better than criminalization.
“From our experience, it is clear that people who make a Hitler salute or use a swastika in public already demonstrate a consolidated antisemitic ideology,” they said. “To believe that they could be dissuaded by a prevention program is a massive misjudgement of the situation.”
They noted that past attempts by Swiss politicians to ban “symbols, gestures and flags” connected to the Nazis have failed “due to the attitude of the Federal Council.”
“However, the SIG/FCSI and the PLJS remain confident that these proposals will find support in parliament and will campaign for them publicly and politically,” they said.