The week in Switzerland
Dear Swiss Abroad,
For me personally, there’s no reason to head off anywhere in summer. This time of year is nice and warm in Switzerland – except for when it isn’t, like the past few days…
But what about you: already been on holiday? And when you do jet off, do you know what belongs in hand luggage and what doesn’t? Zurich airport cleared this question up this week.
Also in the headlines over the past seven days: anti-Semitic attacks in two Swiss cities and two dozen hikers – in Nazi uniforms – in the Bernese Oberland.
You won’t believe the kind things security at Zurich airport sometimes discover during luggage checks. On Wednesday, the airport offered a glimpse into some of the illicit finds.
You might think that air travellers wouldn’t be keen to expose themselves to any undue threats. Far from it – at least according to the surprising number of dangerous objects confiscated by security staff at Zurich airport.
SRF News writes that around 180,000 such objects were picked up last year alone. The haul included flares, fireworks, chainsaws, electric scooters and fridges. And there are increasing numbers of “dangerous goods” – as they are known in aviation – being found each year.
What happens to the confiscated booty? “Items like disposable lighters or aerosol cans end up directly in the bin. More expensive objects such as power banks, e-scooters or other devices with batteries are registered and stored for up to 30 days for a fee,” writes 20 Minuten.
The war in Gaza appears to be spurring an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Switzerland. In two cities this week, perpetrators referred to the war as they attacked Orthodox Jews.
According to 20 Minuten, three such incidents happened in Davos on Tuesday. And last Saturday, an unknown perpetrator insulted and spat at a group of young Orthodox Jewish students in Lucerne, SRF News reported. Investigations have been launched in both cases.
Jonathan Kreutner, the secretary general of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, said that the verbal abuse and assaults were linked to the current Middle East conflict.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the war in Gaza which followed, there has been an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Switzerland – an unsettling development for many Jews in the country, said Kreutner.
A hiking group in Nazi uniforms sparked headlines – and police intervention – in the Alps this week. The men have since denied that they are in fact Nazis.
On Tuesday, a rather special kind of hiking group made the news. Wearing Wehrmacht uniforms and carrying Nazi insignia, some two dozen men had been spotted strolling in the Bernese Oberland over the weekend. They had come from various European countries as well as the US.
To avoid potential conflicts, police instructed the men to take off the jackets. However, the group didn’t have to contend with any criminal charges: in Switzerland, Nazi symbols are not – yet – banned.
In the meantime, the members of “Project Edelweiss” have a media profile, and are keen to manage it. In a statement, they described themselves as an apolitical “historical re-enactment group”. Associating them with National Socialism is “both wrong and insulting”, Blick quotes them as saying.
Five men allegedly pimped out underage girls for clients in a barber shop in Geneva.
On Tuesday, the Tribune de Genève reported on a case of underage prostitution in Geneva. Local police arrested five men at the beginning of May for allegedly promoting and organising the prostitution of minors, the newspaper wrote. One girl was apparently under the age of 15.
The discovery reveals a worrying reality: the prostitution of minors is also increasingly becoming a problem in Germany and France. According to Swiss public television, RTS, underage Swiss girls are also prostituting themselves in France.
The Tribune de Genève quoted a youth specialist who said such situations often involve young people (in almost 98% of cases girls) with very low self-esteem. The risk is that such youths end up in the hands of criminal networks – like the alleged one in Geneva.
The week ahead
The UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 comes to an end on Sunday in Basel. Spain will face England in the final, with the kick-off at 6pm Swiss time. According to media reports, Prince William will be travelling to Switzerland for the match. He won’t be alone: the tournament has already set a new record for a women’s Euro with 623,088 spectators so far.
Swiss National Day celebrations will get going already on Thursday, with speeches planned ahead of the official day: Friday, August 1. Two ministers are notably eager to start early: Albert Rösti will speak in Basse-Vendline and Lucerne, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider in Rorschach.
On Friday, a public holiday, ministers will set off on a marathon of speeches across the country: Karin Keller-Sutter on the Rütli meadow; Beat Jans in Altdorf, Schaffhausen and Windisch; Baume-Schneider in Delley and Tresa; Ignazio Cassis in Gersau; Rösti in Goms, Pierrafortscha, Les Planchettes and Oberbölchen; Guy Parmelin in Klosters; and Martin Pfister in Lütisburg, Rimensberg, Amriswil and Fribourg.
Translated from German by DeepL/dos
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