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Two Arabic-Speaking Men Arrested for Antisemitic Attack in Switzerland
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Zurich, Switzerland, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo: IMAGO/dieBildmanufaktur via Reuters Connect
i24 News — The Swiss authorities arrested two men in late August for an alleged antisemitic attack on a 19-year-old British Orthodox Jew in Davos.
The victim said the two men, who speak Arabic and French and are rejected asylum seekers in Switzerland, spat on him and knocked off his kippah while shouting “Free Palestine.”
Peter Peyer, canton Graubünden Director of Justice, told Swiss media outlets that “we do not tolerate people who are allowed to stay here attacking other people, whether it is because of religion or skin color.”
The Swiss authorities quickly released the two suspected perpetrators, who are aged 24 and 29.
“If people insult a Jewish guest, there is a high probability that it has an antisemitic background,” said Peyer. The Swiss authorities ruled out that the attack was linked to terrorism.
Writing for the popular Switzerland-based, pro-Israel website “Audiatur Online,” Lukas Joos said that the incident in Davos “is one of the most serious antisemitic violent crimes in recent years.”
He criticized the Swiss justice system for not jailing the suspects and the seemingly lax attitude of Jonathan Kreutner, the General Secretary of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), toward an ostensible outbreak of Muslim antisemitism.
The title of Joos’ article is: “Muslim hatred of Jews? The SIG has ‘no evidence at the moment.’”
Joos wrote: “But Muslim violence against Jews is a sensitive topic, so it’s best not to say anything without hard and fast evidence. As Kreutner explained to the NZZ, you have to be careful not to ‘generalize’ or ‘stigmatize entire population groups.’”
According to Joos, “Kreutner doesn’t think anything about it. The fact that the two thugs are already back in the wild does not seem to be a ‘generalization’ nor does it ‘stigmatize entire population groups,’ which is why it probably does not affect his professional activity. And so only one question remains unanswered: Which organization is responsible for the (security) interests of Swiss Jews?”
Kreutner refused to respond to numerous i24NEWS press queries. Davos was engulfed in a second antisemitism scandal in August when it invited the reported German antisemite Michael Blume to deliver a talk on the meaning of antisemitism. Israeli government spokeswoman Tal Heinrich sharply criticized Blume in May, declaring “Comments that we have seen from Mr. Blume in the past about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and throughout this war demonstrate that he often lacks moral clarity.”
The journalist and Swiss Jew, David Klein, asked in the headline of his “Audiatur Online” piece about Blume: “Is an anti-Semite raising awareness about anti-Semitism in Davos?”
According to a June i24NEWS report, after Blume told the German media that Israel’s government is to blame for the increase of antisemitism in Europe, Roman Haller, a Holocaust survivor who lives in Munich and is the former director of the Jewish Claims Conference, blasted Blume as antisemitic and urged him to resign.
Davos-based pastor Astrid Fiehland, together with Eike-Harriet Riga, managing director of the Kulturplatz Davos, invited and hosted Blume. Fiehland refused to respond to i24NEWS press queries about her alleged role in making antisemitism socially and politically correct in Davos. Klein sent extensive information about Blume’s alleged antisemitism, including two legal rulings from Hamburg courts that Blume can be termed antisemitic based on his previous statements against Jews and the Zionist icon Orde Wingate, the “father of the IDF,” according to Israeli historian Michael Oren.
Klein wrote that “The Davos audience learns nothing about the controversy surrounding Blume in the text announcing the event” and “Pastor Fiehland angrily denies the accusation of anti-Israel agitation, saying she ‘lived in Israel for nine years.’ However, this argument is not convincing.”
Blume is a member of the Christian Democratic Union party (CDU). The CDU politician, Jan Jacobi, called for Blume’s removal on X: “The dismissal of Michael Blume is long overdue.” Kreutner did not respond to press queries about Davos hosting Blume.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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Rubio Holds First Meeting with Hostage Families, Urges End to Gaza War
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
i24 News – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held on Friday his first meeting with the families of the hostages still held in Gaza since taking office in January, telling the loved ones that a “real victory” can only occur in Gaza when the remaining hostages are returned.
Those in attendance included Omri Miran’s brother-in-law; Evyatar David’s brother; Hadar Goldin’s brother; and Iair Horn, who himself is a freed hostage, with his brother Eitan still held by Hamas in Gaza.
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, they urged the current US administration for a “bold decision.” “We’ve waited long enough,” the family members said. “It’s time to make brave decisions and bring all our loved ones back—all at once.”
Rubio, in turn, expressed the Trump administration’s “unwavering commitment” in rescuing the 49 remaining hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
This meeting comes after U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this week that he believes a ceasefire will be reached between Israel and Hamas “within the next week.”
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Trump Says He Would Consider Bombing Iran Again, Drops Sanctions Relief Plan
US President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured), at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President Donald Trump sharply criticized Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamanei, on Friday, dropped plans to lift sanctions on Iran and said he would consider bombing Iran again if Tehran is enriching uranium to worrisome levels.
Trump reacted sternly to Khamanei’s first remarks after a 12-day conflict with Israel that ended when the United States launched bombing raids last weekend against Iranian nuclear sites.
Khamanei said Iran “slapped America in the face” by launching an attack against a major US base in Qatar following the US bombing raids. Khamanei also said Iran would never surrender.
Trump said he had spared Khamanei’s life. US officials told Reuters on June 15 that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to kill the supreme leader.
“His Country was decimated, his three evil Nuclear Sites were OBLITERATED, and I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life,” Trump said in a social media post.
“I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH,” he said.
Iran said a potential nuclear deal was conditional on the US ending its “disrespectful tone” toward the Supreme Leader.
“If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Khamenei, and stop hurting his millions of heartfelt followers,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X in the early hours of Saturday.
Trump also said that in recent days he had been working on the possible removal of sanctions on Iran to give it a chance for a speedy recovery. He said he had now abandoned that effort.
“I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief, and more,” he said.
Trump said at a White House news conference that he did not rule out attacking Iran again, when asked about the possibility of new bombing of Iranian nuclear sites if deemed necessary at some point.
“Sure, without question, absolutely,” he said.
Trump said he would like inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency – the U.N. nuclear watchdog – or another respected source to be able to inspect Iran’s nuclear sites after they were bombed last weekend.
Trump has rejected any suggestion that damage to the sites was not as profound as he has said.
The IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, said on Wednesday that ensuring the resumption of IAEA inspections was his top priority as none had taken place since Israel began bombing on June 13.
However, Iran’s parliament approved moves on Wednesday to suspend such inspections. Araqchi indicated on Friday that Tehran may reject any request by the head of the agency for visits to Iranian nuclear sites.
Trump said Iran still wants to meet about the way forward. The White House had said on Thursday that no meeting between the U.S. and an Iranian delegation has been scheduled thus far.
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