A 50-year old ultra Orthodox Jew was stabbed by a Muslim teen in the Selnau district of Zurich, Switzerland on Saturday, who shouted "death to Jews," as he launched his attack. The assailant was apprehended by police and taken in for questioning, while the Jewish victim remains in critical condition at the hospital.
Read more:
"The background and sequence of events are unclear and are being examined from multiple perspectives, including the explicit possibility of an antisemitic crime," the police said in a statement. It urged witnesses to come forward. According to the police, the stabbing came after a dispute occurred between the two.
"I am appalled that a member of our community has become a victim of such an attack," Jonathan Kreutner, Head of the Jewish community in Switzerland, told Ynet. "Physical attacks against Jews in Switzerland are extremely rare. The Jewish community has not faced life-threatening attacks like these in the past two decades. However, there has been a significant increase in such physical attacks since October 7."
In a separate incident on Friday in Paris, a Jewish man was assaulted as he was leaving a synagogue in the 20th district. Eyewitnesses reported that the attacker shouted, "dirty Jew," before fleeing the scene. The victim was hospitalized.
"Based on our initial findings, an antisemitic attack occurred yesterday evening in Paris, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said. "We are utilizing all means to apprehend the perpetrator of this despicable attack. At my direction, regional authorities in France have increased surveillance of Jewish community centers to ensure they are not victimized by the events unfolding in the Middle East."
Amid the ongoing war in Gaza, there has been a sharp increase in the number of antisemitic incidents worldwide. The year 2023 concluded with a surge of approximately 235% in antisemitic events compared to 2022, with 43% of the incidents occurring in the United States and 35% in Europe.
Additionally, there was a significant 33% rise in violent antisemitic incidents compared to 2022, with 48% of these incidents taking place against the backdrop of the Gaza conflict. Within this context, 46% of all violent antisemitic events occurred in the United States, followed by the United Kingdom (16%), Germany (9%), France (6%), Canada (6%), Australia (2.5%), and other countries (12%).