There
is no Jewish extremism here. There are armed
security people here and there at Jewish
institutions.SwissinfoAngered Swiss
Jews demand explanations

[Allfed Donath]Alfred
Donath is going to have words with Justice
Minister Christoph Blocher

JEWS in Switzerland are reportedly “outraged” at a passage in the government’s new extremist report that refers to
Jewish extremism in the country.

A delegation of the Swiss Federation of Jewish
Communities is calling for an explanation when it meets Justice Minister Christoph Blocher on
January 18.

“There is no Jewish extremism here. There are armed security people here and there at Jewish institutions.

But it is completely legal and is carried out at places where unfortunately the state is not in a position to look after our security,” commented
Alfred Donath, president of the
Federation.

“But these people are not militant Jews. The accusation of extremism is totally false,” he added.

In the latest amended version of the report on extremism, there is a passage which reads that
“anti-Semitic action could lead to Jewish extremism prepared for violence.”

Cannot
understand

In an interview with the “NZZ am Sonntag” newspaper, Donath says he cannot understand why the passage is still in the corrected version of the report.

“We would like to know that too! Is it dilettantism or bad will? A delegation of Swiss
Jews will visit the minister responsible, Justice
Minister Christoph Blocher, on January 18 for clarification on this issue,” commented Donath.

He told the newspaper that the federation would be asking for the entire passage referring to
Jewish extremism to be taken out of the report.

Asked whether there were not Swiss Jews who took radical positions, Donath explained that the spectrum of opinions about the Middle East situation was “naturally large”, both among Swiss
Jews and the rest of the Swiss population.

“But to construe from that we have an extremism prepared for violence is completely unfounded,” he said.

Key Facts

  • The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities
    was founded in 1904.
  • It is the umbrella organisation of Jewish
    communities in Switzerland.
  • It represents Swiss Jews politically.
  • The organisation has 18 affiliated
    communities, with a total membership of about
    18,000 people.
  • Jews in Switzerland represent 0.2 per cent
    of the Swiss population.

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