Anti-Semitic incidents worry Martine Brunschwig Graf
Published: Sunday, Nov 26th 2023, 21:40
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The President of the Federal Commission against Racism, Martine Brunschwig Graf, warns of an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Switzerland. The Middle East conflict should not be exported to Switzerland.
On the Sunday evening news program on French-speaking Swiss television RTS, the former FDP National Councillor from Geneva said that the renewed increase in anti-Semitic incidents was nothing new. Such an increase was also recorded in 2011 and 2014 - whenever the Middle East conflict intensified.
"But today it is the intensity, the number of incidents and the polarization that stand out - trends that need to be taken into account," says the President of the Anti-Racism Commission.
In addition to violence against Jews, Brunschwig Graf also observes tensions against Muslims. "Racism and anti-Semitism affect us all," she says.
When asked about hateful campaigns by certain parties, the Geneva native says that the latter are free to choose their topics. But they should not incite hatred in order to defend their positions.
Brunschwig Graf has noticed an increase in awareness of the problem of racism over the last twelve years at the head of the aforementioned commission. "More than 60 percent of people think that racism in Switzerland must be taken seriously and combated," she says. The media have also become more aware of racism.
At the beginning of next year, Ursula Schneider Schüttel, a member of the Fribourg SP National Council who was not re-elected in October, will take over the chairmanship of the Commission against Racism. Brunschwig Graf will relinquish her office at the end of the year.
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