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Swiss Police Investigating Davos Ski Shop and Restaurant Over Ban on Jews
A Hebrew sign at the Pischa Restaurant in the Sweiss resort of Davos informing Jewish guests that they are banned from renting ski equipment. Photo: Screenshot
A restaurant and ski equipment hire outlet in the exclusive Swiss mountain resort of Davos is in the spotlight after it posted a sign informing “our Jewish brothers” that they are no longer permitted to rent sledges, skis and other mountain sports gear as a consequence of “various very annoying incidents.”
A sign in Hebrew at the Pischa Restaurant in Davos stated that “due to various very annoying incidents, including the theft of a sledge, we no longer rent sports equipment to our Jewish brothers. This affects all sports equipment such as sledges, airboards, skis and snowshoes. Thank you for your understanding.”
The offending sign was photographed, translated and posted on Twitter/X by Jehuda Spielman, a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party who serves as a municipal councillor in Zurich.
A statement from the local police announced that they had already launched an investigation into the scandal. A police spokesperson told the SDA news agency that a formal complaint was not necessary for an investigation, as “suspicion of discrimination and a call to hatred” was sufficient for officers to begin their inquiries.
Jonathan Kreutner — the secretary-general of the Swiss Israelite Association (SIG) — told the Tages Anzeiger news outlet that the sign was “shocking and clearly discriminatory.”
Kreutner, who is himself currently on vacation in Davos, which attracts large numbers of Orthodox Jewish and Israeli tourists, added: “I understand why certain people no longer feel welcome in Davos.”
The Pischa Restaurant pushed back against the criticism, issuing a statement in Sunday complaining that Jewish guests allegedly did not respect its house rules.
“There are Jewish guests who wanted to rent sledges in street shoes, but would then leave them on the slopes and alert the emergency services even though they were not injured,” the statement claimed. It also complained that Jewish guests were bringing their own food onto the restaurant’s property, accusing them of “populating the best places on the terrace or in the restaurant with picnics.”
Meanwhile, an Israeli tourist on vacation in Davos told the Israeli news outlet Ynet that he had attempted to rent equipment from Pischa on Sunday and had been refused service.
“I pretended not to understand Hebrew and asked if we could rent the equipment. After the woman consulted with the manager, she rejected our request,” the 21-year-old man said.
Tension between businesses in Davos and Jewish guests has been rising in recent months. Last summer, the head of the local tourism office, Reto Branschi, said that littering, poor driving and trespassing on private grounds had caused the resentment of “locals, hosts and other guests.”
However, Branschi criticized the Pischa Restaurant’s announcement for focusing specifically on Jewish guests. “We distance ourselves from this notice,” he told the Tages Anzeiger on Sunday.
In 2017, a similar scandal erupted in the Swiss mountain resort of Arosa after a hotel owner posted signs instructing Jewish guests to shower before they used the swimming pool and to be sparing in their use of the hotel’s refrigerators to store kosher food.
The post Swiss Police Investigating Davos Ski Shop and Restaurant Over Ban on Jews first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘With or Without Russia’s Help’: Iran Pledges to Block South Caucasus Route Opened Up By Peace Deal
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
i24 News – Iran will block the establishment of a US-backed transit corridor in the South Caucasus region with or without Moscow’s help, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying on Saturday by the Iran International website, one day after the historic peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
“Mr. Trump thinks the Caucasus is a piece of real estate he can lease for 99 years,” Ali Akbar Velayati said of the so-called Zangezur corridor, the establishment of which is stipulated in the peace deal unveiled on Friday by US President Donald Trump. The White House said the transit route would facilitate greater exports of energy and other resources.
“This passage will not become a gateway for Trump’s mercenaries — it will become their graveyard,” the Khamenei advisor added.
Baku and Yerevan have been at loggerheads since the late 1980s when Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous Azerbaijani region mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, broke away from Azerbaijan with support from Armenia. Azerbaijan took back full control of the region in 2023, prompting or forcing almost all of the territory’s 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee to Armenia.
Yet that painful history was put to the side on Friday at the White House, as Trump oversaw a signing ceremony, flanked by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The peace deal with Azerbaijan—a pro-Western ally of Israel—is expected to pull Armenia out of the Russian and Iranian sphere of influence and could transform the South Caucasus, an energy-producing region neighboring Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran.
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UK Police Arrest 150 at Protest for Banned Palestine Action Group
People holding signs sit during a rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, August 9, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Saturday it had arrested 150 people at a protest against Britain’s decision to ban the group Palestine Action, adding it was making further arrests.
Officers made arrests after crowds, waving placards expressing support for the group, gathered in Parliament Square, the force said on X.
Protesters, some wearing black and white Palestinian scarves, chanted “shame on you” and “hands off Gaza,” and held signs such as “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action,” video taken by Reuters at the scene showed.
In July, British lawmakers banned Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged planes in protest against Britain’s support for Israel.
The ban makes it a crime to be a member of the group, carrying a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
The co-founder of Palestine Action, Huda Ammori, last week won a bid to bring a legal challenge against the ban.
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‘No Leniency’: Iran Announces Arrest of 20 ‘Zionist Agents’
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addresses a special session of the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 20, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
i24 News – Iranian authorities have in recent months arrested 20 people charged with being “Israeli Mossad operatives,” the judiciary said, adding that the Islamic regime will mete out the harshest punishments.
“The judiciary will show no leniency toward spies and agents of the Zionist regime, and with firm rulings, will make an example of them all,” spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri told Iranian media. However, it is understood that an unspecified number of detainees were released, apparently after the charges against them could not be substantiated.
The Islamic Republic was left reeling by a devastating 12-day war with Israel earlier in the summer that left a significant proportion of its military arsenal in ruins and dealt a serious setback to its uranium enrichment program. The fallout included an uptick in executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel, with at least eight death sentences carried out in recent months. Hit with international sanctions, the country is in dire economic straights, with frequent energy outages and skyrocketing unemployment.
In recent weeks Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi affirmed that Tehran cannot give up on its nuclear enrichment program even as it was severely damaged during the war.
“It is stopped because, yes, damages are serious and severe. But obviously we cannot give up of enrichment because it is an achievement of our own scientists. And now, more than that, it is a question of national pride,” the official told Fox News.