Swiss president reacts to criticism by Jewish group
Swiss President Alain Berset says he is “very surprised” and “upset” by recent criticism by the head of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities that he had not firmly condemned the recent rise in anti-Semitism.
A letter sent by the president of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, Ralph Lewin, to Berset, as reported by the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday, expressed disappointment that he had appeared silent in the face of the increase in anti-Semitic acts in recent weeks.
“For us, who are not only Jews, but also Swiss, it would have been important to also obtain the public support of the President of the Confederation,” Lewin wrote.
+ Rise in anti-Semitic incidents in French-speaking Switzerland
Initially, Berset did not react to the criticism. But Swiss public television RTS reported on Tuesday that the interior ministry had issued a statement on Sunday evening declaring: “Federal President Berset has publicly condemned the Hamas terrorist attacks on several occasions since October 7. He has also firmly condemned on several occasions the rise of anti-Semitism and racism.”
It also highlighted the many occasions Berset had condemned the attacks, expressed his solidarity with the Israeli people, urged them to fight against anti-Semitism, through awareness-raising in training places, and condemned the rise of racism and anti-Semitism.
+ Racism watchdog warns of anti-Semitic trend in Switzerland
In an interview with RTS, Berset said he was “very very surprised and very upset by these criticisms”, which he found “unfounded”. He described the rise in anti-Semitism as “unbearable”.
“It’s unbearable when we know the history of our continent. There is nothing to tolerate in that and I have denounced it clearly in each of my interventions, in conferences, in interviews, in Switzerland and abroad. I even encouraged the cantons to come together to talk about the fight against anti-Semitism in schools,” he declared.
Since October 7, the Intercommunity Coordination against Anti-Semitism and Defamation (CICAD) has recorded 250 anti-Semitic acts in French-speaking Switzerland.
+ Poll: Swiss divided over Israeli-Palestinian war
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