The Zurich police are increasing security around Jewish institutions for fear of anti-Semitic attacks.
One day after a 50-year-old haredi Jew was stabbed and seriously injured by a 15-year-old boy, the Zurich police in Switzerland announced that an investigation had been opened on suspicion of an antisemitic hate crime, and security around Jewish institutions in Switzerland's largest city was significantly increased.
In a public statement the police said: "It is unclear what caused the attack, but investigations include the explicit possibility of an antisemitic crime. The additional security will be placed around specific locations with Jewish ties and the decision to do so was made after discussions were held with local Jewish organizations."
The police did not provide further details about the young man arrested on suspicion of stabbing the Jewish man, or whether the decision to increase security around Jewish institutions was made after specific warnings. Jonathan Kreutner, general secretary of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, said in an interview with Swiss television that physical attacks on Jews in the country were rare. "A case like this is really a new dimension," Kreutner said. The GRA Foundation Against Racism and Antisemitism condemned the attack, saying witnesses heard the 15-year-old attacker shouting antisemitic slogans that they said "indicated a hate crime."
The GRA Foundation made a public statement, saying: "This was not just an isolated incident. It is clear that the incident is part of a pattern related to tensions connected to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Since the escalation in the Middle East, the number of antisemitic incidents in Switzerland has soared."