Jewish man stabbed in Zurich in suspected antisemitic attack
An Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed in a suspected antisemitic hate crime in the Selnau area of Zurich, Switzerland, shortly after Shabbat ended on Saturday evening, according to the Zurich canton police.
A 15-year-old Swiss assailant stabbed a 50-year-old Orthodox Jew, critically wounding him. City Councilor Jehuda Spielman, who knows the victim, said that bystanders rushed in to restrain the attacker, and that “without a doubt, they saved his life.”
“We were really lucky that people fought back,” said Spielman, who said that he doubted the victim would have survived from the multiple stab wounds. He praised the citizens of Zurich who intervened.
Spielman said that the attacker was shouting antisemitic slogans while he was stabbing and as he was pinned down. In addition to acting cavalier about the incident, Spielman said the assailant had alluded to jihadist concepts, such as acting on behalf of “Al-Aqsa.”
Jewish organizations said that the assailant yelled “death to the Jews” during the attack. Police are calling on witnesses to come forward. Police had come to the scene after initial reports that there was an argument between several people. The police said that they have opened an investigation, and have included the possibility that the incident was an antisemitic crime.
“It’s no doubt that it’s an antisemitic attack,” said Spielman.
Spielman said that the incident wasn’t planned but spontaneous, and even in Israel such actions are difficult to counter. The councilman said that law enforcement is very supportive and is doing what they can, not just with the Saturday incident, but also since the October 7 massacre.
The Zurich police said on Sunday that after consultation with local Jewish organizations, they had increased security at Jewish sites.
The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) stated that the Jewish community’s security arrangements were being reviewed after the attack, though, “It is assumed that no further threat to Jewish people and institutions is expected at the moment. Nevertheless, all members of the Jewish community are called upon to behave cautiously and prudently until further notice.”
“The SIG is deeply shocked that a community member fell victim to such an attack. Physical attacks on Jewish people in Switzerland are very rare. The Jewish community has been spared from such life-threatening attacks for the past two decades. However, there has been a significant increase in such physical attacks since October 7,” added the federation. “The SIG’s thoughts are with the victim and his relatives. We pray for a full and speedy recovery.”
European Jewish organizations condemned the attack, citing reports that the attacker had shouted antisemitic and anti-Israel slogans before and during the assault.
“There’s a disturbing trend of leveraging the Palestinian cause as justification for targeting Jews,” said the European Jewish Congress.
The Conference of European Rabbis said that the incident was further evidence of the growing threat of rising antisemitism since the October 7 massacre.
Conference of European Rabbis president Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, who was born and raised in Zurich, said that authorities needed to investigate possible sources of incitement in the alleged attacker’s community.
“A 15-year-old boy should not rise in the middle of the day and take a knife from the kitchen to kill a passing Jewish person,” said Goldschmidt. “This is a glaring warning to European leaders. We must increase monitoring of incitement centers wherever they may be.”
Spielman said that it was understandable to want to focus on bad events, but reminded that many people stepped in to stop the attack, and their heroism should be kept in mind.
In response to the attack, he called on the Jewish community not to hide their identity, as that was part of the objective of such attacks.
“The more we are attacked the more we should show our Jewish identity, wear kippahs, because the attack aims to make us hide,” said Spielman. “It’s tough, but that’s our mission.”