In 2017, 39 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the German-speaking Switzerland. Those incidents were reported to The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities [SIG] or published in the media. For the purpose of this analysis, interpretations recorded in Internet newspapers and cases on the Internet are taken into account, but not when calculating the total number of incidents. But a comparison to the number of incidents recorded on the same basis in previous years (66 incidents in 2014, 15 incidents in 2015, 25 incidents in 2016) shows that the number of incidents outside the Internet rose again. Based on the higher number of incidents recorded this year, we cannot say the number of antisemitic incidents has increased, since the fluctuations can also be attributed to a different reporting behavior. According to the study of the European Community’s Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) of 2013, up to 70 percent of antisemitic incidents are not reported.
In contrast to antisemitic incidents, which in certain periods are strongly and significantly affected by political events inside and outside the country, the mood of the Swiss towards the Jews in general change less. According to a study published in 2017 by the Swiss Federal Bureau of Statistics, up to 12 percent of the respondents had hostile and negative attitudes toward Jews.
Conclusion
In 2017 the number of documented antisemitic incidents rose in German Switzerland, compared to last year. Again and again we see threats and acts of violence, as well as letters inspired by antisemitism. Above all, the Internet has been misused to transmit hate messages. Barriers disappear and more and more criminals are openly inciting while using their real name. Racism and antisemitism have a public platform on the Internet, through social media such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, or through blogs, posts and commentary columns of Internet newspapers.
