An Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed in a suspected hate crime in the Selnau area of Zurich, Switzerland shortly after Shabbat ended on Saturday evening, according to the local Jewish community.
Zurich city police said that a 15-year-old assailant stabbed a 50-year-old Orthodox Jew, critically wounding him. The assailant was arrested and police have opened an investigation.
The Blick news site reported that one eyewitness said that “the perpetrator laughed when he was arrested.” Some initial reports indicated that the assailant yelled “death to the Jews” or “death to Israel” during the attack.
Jewish community reviewing security arrangements
The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) stated that the Jewish community’s security arrangements were being reviewed after the attack.
“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,” said the Federation.
“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 7th,” added the federation. “The SIG’s thoughts are with the victim and his relatives. We pray for a full and speedy recovery.”