by swissinfo.ch and agencies | March 19, 2012
The number of attacks against Jewish interests in Switzerland increased in 2011, according to anti-racism organizations.
Swastikas on synagogue doors and overturned Jewish gravestones are just two types of anti-Semitic incident reported by Jewish groups last year. People were also the target of attacks: in December an Orthodox Jew was beaten up in Geneva, while others reported death threats and insults.
According to Cicad, the intercommunity coordination against anti-Semitism and defamation, 130 cases of anti-Semitism were reported in western Switzerland in 2011, up from 104 the year before.
In the German-speaking area, there were 112 cases – 76 of them on the internet – according to the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the Foundation against racism and anti-Semitism (GRA). In 2010, it reported 34 incidents.
Both organizations said on Monday the worst incident had occurred last March when unknown assailants shot at the window of a Jewish school in Zurich. The school was empty at the time and no one was hurt.
In Basel the entrance to a synagogue was defaced with a swastika, and gravestones were overturned.
In 2011 for the first time the Federation of Jewish Communities checked out anti-Semitic abuse on the internet.
Source: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Rise_in_anti-Semitic_incidents_reported.html?cid=32318156
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