Cassis calls for “clear speech and concrete actions” against anti-Semitism

Swiss foreign minister Cassis spoke out against anti-Semitism. Keystone / Anthony Anex

On the occasion of the commemorations of the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht and in a context of increasing violence against Jews, a conference was devoted to the duty of memory on Thursday in Bern. 

Ignazio Cassis, for his part, estimated that the cases of anti-Semitism observed in Switzerland “require clear discourse, followed by concrete actions”.

+ Swiss anti-Semitism cases on the rise

“Many of our Jewish fellow citizens are afraid to leave their apartment or their house, to put on a yarmulke or to wear the Star of David as a pendant. They are taken to task and insulted,” he wrote in an article published in Le Temps, describing what these people have to endure as “unbearable”.

Cassis does not hesitate to draw a parallel between Kristallnacht, from November 9 to 10, 1938, which saw hundreds of Jews killed, synagogues, shops and Jewish homes ransacked, the Shoah and the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7. In all these cases, he argues, “dreams and hopes have been dashed in the name of an inhumane ideology that does not support diversity.”

“We have a collective and individual responsibility to combat anti-Semitism,” said the Ticino resident. In addition to the measures already taken, such as strengthening the protection of Jewish communities and institutions in Switzerland, the Ticino resident said it was important “to do more and to remain vigilant”.

Concerning the suffering of the Palestinians, which “must not be obscured either”, Cassis simply said that Switzerland “continues to work forcefully in favor of the values ​​of peace, humanity and help to others.” He recalls that Switzerland has released an additional CHF90 million for victims in the region.

The Federal Council is examining in particular the possibility and modalities of support for the creation of a place for mediation and networking on the basis of an “innovative” project from the canton of St Gallen. This project could see the light of day thanks to the change of mind in Bern.

Memory work also involves various encounters. A conference was also devoted to it on Thursday in Bern. “We thought for a long time that the Holocaust didn’t really concern us, but that’s not at all true,” said Simon Geissbühler, organiser and head of the foreign ministry’s peace division, in Thursday’s 7.30pm.

This summer, another Bernese initiative saw the light of day: it was proposed to install paving stones to commemorate five victims of National Socialism. Once conceptualised, the monument should find its place near the Federal Palace.

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