The Intercommunity Coordination against Antisemitism and Defamation (CICAD) recorded 165 antisemitic acts in French-speaking Switzerland last year, 18 more than in 2020. More than a third of them concern the Jewish conspiracy theory.
In 2021, CICAD records:
- 153 acts of concern (compared to 141 in 2020), mainly recorded on the Internet and social networks. This category is constantly growing (+23%) and confirms the upward trend that we already observed last year.
- 5 serious acts and 7 serious acts (compared to 3 serious acts and 3 serious acts in 2020).
The main vectors of antisemitism:
- The extreme right : the extreme right in French-speaking Switzerland remains active. The restrictions linked to the pandemic have made it possible to adapt a discourse in order to federate beyond traditional circles.
- Conspiracy Theories : Misinformation related to COVID-19 remains a worrying source of antisemitism. Scapegoat theories imagining the “Jews” in charge increased.
- The Israeli-Palestinian conflict : the Israeli-Palestinian crisis of May 2021 resulted in an upsurge in cases of anti-Semitism. For the month of May alone, three serious acts were recorded.
- Holocaust denial is still a reality in Switzerland. 45% of the antisemitic acts listed relate to Holocaust denial.
