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ANTI-SEMITISIM

Zurich hikes security at Jewish institutions after stabbing

Zurich police said Sunday they were hiking security in front of Jewish institutions after a potentially anti-Semitic knife attack left an Orthodox Jewish man in serious condition.

Published: 3 March 2024 15:30 CET
A police car drives past a sign of the UBS bank in Zurich.
A police car drives past a sign of the UBS bank in Zurich. Zurich police said Sunday they were hiking security in front of Jewish institutions after a potentially anti-Semitic knife attack left an Orthodox Jewish man in serious condition. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Police in Switzerland’s largest city said  the 50-year-old was “critically injured” in the attack late Saturday and a 15-year-old Swiss boy suspected of being the perpetrator had been arrested on site.

The statement said the motives for the attack were unclear, but that Zurich cantonal police and the youth prosecutor’s office in charge of the investigation were explicitly looking into the possibility that it was an “anti-Semitic crime”.

The police also said they had consulted with various Jewish institutions in the city following the incident and  decided to increase security around the institutions as a “precautionary measure”.

The GRA Foundation working against racism and anti-Semitism condemned the attack, maintaining that witnesses had heard the alleged perpetrator shout “anti-Semitic slogans that suggest a hate crime”. 

“It was not just an isolated case,” it said in a statement, adding that it was clearly part of a pattern linked to the tensions over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

“Since the escalation in the Middle East, anti-Semitic incidents in Switzerland have skyrocketed,” it said.

Anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes have been on the rise in many countries since the current conflict began on October 7, when Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack inside Israel.

That attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures, and also saw the militants abduct 250 hostages, of whom 130 remain in captivity, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory has killed more than 30,400 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

“If the anti-Semitic motive is proven, the attack will represent a turning-point and should not be viewed as just an isolated case,” GRA Foundation said.

“Such attacks threaten us all and our peaceful coexistence.”

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For members

CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': How scammers in Switzerland target foreigners

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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