Switzerland
Orthodox Jew stabbed in Zurich – 15-year-old arrested
A heavily armed police officer stands behind a barrier tape in downtown Zurich
© Ennio Leanza / DPA
Attacks on Jews are rare in Switzerland. Now, however, there was a knife attack on an Orthodox man. The police do not rule out the perpetrator’s anti-Semitic motivation.
Zurich police do not rule out an anti-Semitic background
“The ongoing investigations by the Zurich cantonal police and the responsible youth prosecutor’s office are going in all directions and explicitly include the possibility of an anti-Semitic crime,” she said.
The person attacked is a 50-year-old man. The police were called that evening because of an argument between several people. The background and exact course of events were still being investigated on Sunday.
Knife attack shakes Switzerland
The man’s condition has stabilized, wrote Zurich local councilor Jehuda Spielman, who says he knows the person attacked, on the X platform (formerly Twitter).
The Secretary General of the Israelite Community Association, Jonathan Kreutner, appeared shocked on Swiss television. “It is very rare that there are physical attacks on Jews in Switzerland. A case like this is really a new dimension.”
According to the police, security precautions at Jewish institutions in Zurich have been tightened.