(JTA) — The number of anti-Semitic incidents documented in Switzerland’s French-speaking cantons surged in 2013, mostly online, a local watchdog said.
The Inter-Communitary Coordination Against Anti-Semitism and Defamation, or CICAD, documented 151 anti-Semitic incidents in 2013 compared to 87 in 2012, an increase of 73.5 percent, the group wrote in its annual report, published Thursday.
The vast majority of incidents happened online. CICAD included anti-Semitic threats and incitement to hatred or violence only in comments posted to mainstream media sites with wide readerships, the report said.
In one of the incidents reported, a Jewish family from Pully near Lausanne found a milk carton in front of their home on April 24, with a label that read: “Jews, get out” glued to it.
On Sept. 6, a man approached an Orthodox Jewish family in Geneva and shouted “Heil Hitler” at them before walking away.
On Dec. 13, an email was sent to CICAD that read: “The People of thieves and murderers, soon we will fire up the ovens to save the planet from your degenerated breed.”
With 33 recorded acts, December was the month with the most anti-Semitic incidents. CICAD attributed the increase to the banning in France of shows by the anti-Semitic comedian Dieudonne M’bala M’bala.
CICAD said perpetrators could be categorized into four groups: Extreme rightists, Christian religious fanatics, casual online anti-Semitism and people who are moved to anti-Semitic acts by events connected to Israel.
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