The week in Switzerland
Dear Swiss Abroad,
The conflict in the Middle East dominated headlines around the world this week, including in Switzerland, where 19 activists returned home after spending several days in an Israeli prison.
We also look at the considerable challenges faced by some Swiss Abroad when it comes to renewing their passport, plus the Swiss government’s decision to boost its military capabilities in space – and a load of jellyfish found in a Swiss bathing lake!
The last ten of 19 Swiss activists from the Gaza flotilla returned to Switzerland on Wednesday, having been detained in Israel’s Ktzi’ot prison. One of them, the former mayor of Geneva Rémy Pagani, said the Swiss government’s reaction had been “disgraceful”.
At Geneva Airport, around 300 supporters welcomed the activists home. “Without you, we would still be treated like animals and humiliated,” declared a grateful Rémy Pagani. The Global Sumud Flotilla to Gaza comprised around 450 people, including 19 Swiss nationals, who have now all been deported from Israel. The first Swiss arrived back in Zurich on Saturday, before eight others were repatriated to Geneva on Wednesday.
Pagani told Swiss public television, RTS, that he had not been detained but “kidnapped” by Israel. “We’ve been mistreated, punished collectively, subjected to stressful conditions, including by the prime minister, who was cruel enough to come into our cells to provoke us, with dogs and shotguns,” he said.
Pagani pointed out that the Swiss government is a depositary and signatory to the Geneva Conventions, “which obliges it to provide assistance to populations that are being mistreated, that are victims of war crimes or that are being starved, and to protect and promote humanitarian organisations and individuals who come to their aid – and it’s going to send us bills to guarantee our repatriation? I think that’s disgraceful!”
Marianne Jenni, director of the consular directorate at the foreign ministry, disagreed. “The foreign ministry has done a lot for those involved. Our embassy in Tel Aviv was working around the clock and the detainees were visited twice in prison.” Intensive contact was maintained with the Israeli authorities in order to secure the release of those involved, she told Swiss public television, SRF.
In a heated debate with Pagani on RTS, Bryan Lo Giudice from the Geneva section of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party criticised the activists’ approach. “I don’t think you solve this kind of serious conflict with a delegation of pleasure boats,” he said, noting Pagani’s “tanned complexion”. “The first consequence of this flotilla is that we’re talking about Mr Pagani or Greta Thunberg, and that’s less coverage of the conflict.”
Health problems, distance, travel costs: renewing your Swiss passport abroad can be challenging – and there aren’t many solutions.
Unlike ID cards, Swiss passports must be renewed in person because they contain biometric data. This forces some Swiss Abroad to travel hundreds or even thousands of kilometres.
Last year, 78,124 Swiss Abroad renewed their identity documents. In countries as large as the United States, getting to a mission with consular services often requires a significant investment of time and money. Some Swiss Abroad even have to travel to another country to replace a passport. The embassy and regional consular centre in Bangkok, for example, serves the consular needs of Swiss Abroad not just in Thailand but also in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Myanmar.
Swiss Abroad have been complaining for years about the difficulties of passport renewal. In response, the foreign ministry has developed 21 mobile passport stations. These are used by missions that serve a large geographic area, sometimes spanning several countries. However, no specific rules govern where a mission sends a mobile station: itineraries are “organised directly by the mission and according to its available resources”, the foreign ministry says.
Read our article below to hear the experiences of a 91-year-old legally blind Swiss Abroad in Boston who wanted to renew her passport to be able to travel to Zurich.
The Swiss government has decided to create a “Space Competence Centre” from January 1, 2026. The aim is to build up its military capabilities in space by the mid-2030s.
In doing so, the government wants to strengthen Switzerland’s defence capabilities and reduce its dependence on foreign partners for security-related services, reported Swiss public broadcaster, SRF. At the same time, international cooperation is to be facilitated.
“Space is playing an increasingly important role in military operations and civilian applications,” the government said in a statement on Wednesday. “The war in Ukraine makes it clear that space-based communication, reconnaissance and navigation have become decisive factors. The loss or failure of such systems can have serious consequences.”
The government estimates that this will cost CHF850 million ($1 billion) over 12 years. Parliament still has to approve the funding.
Canton Graubünden in eastern Switzerland is one species richer: freshwater jellyfish have been found in the Rheinauen lake in Trimmis.
But don’t worry: the non-venomous cnidarian, which measures a maximum of 2.5cm, poses no danger to swimmers.
Craspedacusta sowerbii, known as the peach blossom jellyfish or freshwater jellyfish, is found in slow-flowing and stagnant waters where the shore zone can warm considerably. Its diet consists of small crustaceans, rotifers and protozoa.
The week ahead
The Nobel Prize in economics will be awarded on Monday. No Swiss has won it – yet…
Also on Monday the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne is opening a new exhibition, “Really?! Fake, fact or opinion?”, which shows “in a playful, interactive way how fake news can be recognised and why media literacy is so important for everyone”.
It’s that time of year: wrap up and head to Parliament Square in Bern for Rendez-vous Bundesplatz, a spectacular 30-minute sound-and-light show blasted onto the façade of parliament. The theme this year is “Voyage”, visiting some of the world’s most famous landmarks. The final rehearsal is on Friday at 7:30pm – after that, it’s shown every day at 7pm, 8pm and 9pm until November 22.
Edited by Olivier Pauchard/dos
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
