Switzerland’s Jewish community on Thursday welcomed the unanimous decision by the Council of States, the upper house of the Swiss legislature. It calls on the government to ensure that all religious communities receive adequate protection against potential terrorist threats.
Before becoming effective, the motion still needs to receive the approval of the lower house of parliament, the National Council.
The motion, adopted by the Council of States at the initiative of Jewish councilor Daniel Jositsch, reads as follows: “The Federal Council [government] is being tasked to determine, together with the states, which measures can be taken to ensure the safety of religious communities that are particular targets of potential terrorist and extremist violence, and which legislative steps might be required for their implementation.”
Herbert Winter, president of the Swiss Jewish Community Federation (SIG), said in response to the unanimous vote: “This is very encouraging. It seems that the political will to improve the situation is now there. We hope that this initiative will be adopted by the second chamber of parliament as well, and that the State will soon contribute more to the security of the Jewish community."
Last December, an almost identical initiative had failed in the Swiss legislature, and in November 2016, a report by an agency operating under the Swiss Interior Ministry had suggested that "there is no constitutional or legal basis permitting the participation of the federal state in the costs of security costs to protect Jewish institution.” Instead, the report recommended that "Jewish organizations could create a foundation for financing their [own] security costs."
About 20,000 Jews live in Switzerland, making up 0.4 percent of the total population.
