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Swiss Authorities Wrestle With Ban on Pro-Hamas Demonstrations
The Swiss authorities are debating whether to ban pro-Hamas demonstrations after thousands of protesters took to the streets of Zurich and Geneva over the weekend to rally against Israel.
Around 2,000 people assembled in Geneva, brandishing Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the “genocide” which Israel is alleged to be carrying out in Gaza, while another 1,000 took to the streets of Zurich, chanting the slogan “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will be Free” — widely interpreted as a call for Israel’s destruction as a sovereign Jewish state.
The Zurich demonstration took place despite appeals from Mario Fehr — the director of security for the Zurich canton — for a ban. More than 50 antisemitic incidents have been reported in Switzerland — which has a Jewish community of 20,000 — since the atrocities carried out by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
A statement from the Zurich city government ahead of the demonstration noted that bans are implemented not on the basis of the political content of a demonstration, but on whether public safety can be guaranteed.
In an interview last Friday with the NZZ news outlet, Fehr described the rise of antisemitism in Switzerland over the last five weeks as “rampant” and “unbearable.”
“Jewish friends tell me about abuse and hostility. On house walls I read slogans like ‘Death to the Jews.’ We cannot allow that in a tolerant, peaceful country,” Fehr said.
Pro-Hamas demonstrations across Europe had demonstrated “that antisemitism is more widespread in certain cultures,” Fehr said. “Especially in parts of the Arab world, children learn from an early age to hate Jews and Israel. We have to be careful that we do not give room to this hatred.”
Fehr emphasized that he wanted to avoid the present situation in Germany, where Islamist organizations have staged angry demonstrations in support of Hamas, to be repeated in Switzerland.
“We also have anti-Israel demonstrations, which are increasingly being hijacked by extremists. They aim to wipe out Israel and all Jews,” he argued. “The danger that Islamists from Germany or other countries will now move to Switzerland and spread their hatred is real.”
Fehr said that he had advised the Zurich city authorities to prevent any further pro-Hamas demonstrations. “Such demonstrations can degenerate quickly and are difficult to control,” he said. “The municipalities responsible for demonstration approvals in the canton of Zurich should be aware of their responsibility.”
While demonstrations are still permitted in Geneva and Zurich, the city of Berne has said that such gatherings will not be permitted between Nov. 17 and Dec. 24, the eve of the Christmas holiday.
The post Swiss Authorities Wrestle With Ban on Pro-Hamas Demonstrations first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Treasure Trove: An Israeli stamp reflects the complex mix of emotions about Oct. 7
Michelle Shalmiev was born in a village in the Caucasian mountains and immigrated to Israel and settled on a kibbutz when she was 14. Her series “Putting Your Stamp on History” […]
The post Treasure Trove: An Israeli stamp reflects the complex mix of emotions about Oct. 7 appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Download a special Oct. 7 print edition of The Canadian Jewish News
Printable obituaries of eight Canadian victims and more of our original coverage.
The post Download a special Oct. 7 print edition of The Canadian Jewish News appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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The Jewish People Perform Another Miracle
JNS.org – This Oct. 7 will not only be an anniversary of tears, of pure contrition, even if the memory is burning as the people of Israel live. As to how, it wasn’t at all obvious. Our whole history is made of miracles—from the splitting of the sea to escape from the Egyptians to the Inquisition to the pogroms to the thousand other genocidal attacks to which the Jews have been subjected. In every case, the results are always incredible and surprising, especially for how we have emerged active, faithful to our Torah tradition and committed to the return to Jerusalem until we made it happen.
The War of Independence in 1948 was fought by concentration-camp veterans, yet we defeated all the Arab armies, united in hatred, who marched against us. Later, in 1967, 1973 wars were won by a hair’s breadth with miraculous strokes of imagination and leaders who gave birth to ideas that people would have expected. No one would have ever bet a euro, penny or shekel on the idea that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his entire hierarchy could be eliminated, petrifying Iran, especially since we have already reduced its other favorite proxy, Hamas, to pieces. And now we have bombed Iran’s other proxy, the Houthis, some 2,000 kilometers away, destroying the airport from which they receive their weapons and aid from the ayatollahs. The Islamic Republic’s leader, Ali Khamenei, is reportedly hiding underground, the Iraqi and Syrian Shi’ites are waiting to see if they are next, and cities controlled by Tehran are shaking.
As President Joe Biden said, it is a measure of justice, but one that Israel has undertaken in an impossible fashion, defending its citizens amid a thousand prohibitions with determination and without fear. Only in this way can a 76-year-old young state, which has been attacked from all sides, defend itself. The country’s existence is the latest chapter in the history of a people born many millennia ago in the Land of Israel, who are finally back home and defending their state.
The war is certainly not over, as Hezbollah reportedly had 100,000 fighters. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knows that he must see this fight through to the end, despite the international pressure to which Israel has been subjected for nearly a year. Israel’s leadership understands that its very existence is at definitive risk if there is no “new Middle East” in the aftermath of Oct. 7.
While previous generations and Israeli leaders hoped that peace agreements would establish peace in the region, today’s leaders know that there is also a need for battle to stop those who, dominated by absurd fanatical and religious beliefs, wish to kill you. (After all, what do the Houthi rebels in Yemen have to do with the Jews and Israel?)
This is the lesson of our time—not just for Israel and the Jewish people but for everyone. The Jewish people are writing a new page in history, one in which the free world must write and fight alongside them, as it is a battle for the survival of Western ideals. Israel has eliminated the two most dangerous terrorist groups in the world—Hamas and Hezbollah—with operations that will set a precedent for decades. And it challenges Iran. I would like to hear the applause, please.
The post The Jewish People Perform Another Miracle first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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