Unauthorised "Death to Zionism" protest in Basel alarms Jewish community
An unauthorised demonstration under the motto "Death to Zionism" is being called for in Basel on Saturday. The cantonal police have assessed the gathering as not consistent with constitutional rights.
Basel police prepare for banned Zionism protest
An unauthorised demonstration under the slogan "Death to Zionism" is being called for in Basel for the coming Saturday. According to Blick, the Basel-Stadt cantonal police have assessed the gathering as not consistent with constitutional rights – an application for approval was never submitted to the authorities. Even if such an application existed, the demonstration would not be approvable given explicit calls for violence.
The security authorities are taking measures to protect the Jewish community in Basel without mentioning concrete details. Government President Conradin Cramer (47) wrote on X: "I condemn the slogans and symbols with which the call is being made. Jews should feel safe here. There is no place for antisemitism and calls for violence."
According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the posters calling for the demonstration bear red triangles – a symbol that the Palestinian terrorist organisation Hamas typically uses to mark its targets. The Jewish Community of Basel views this as "intimidation" and "threats of violence" against Jewish life.
Erik Petry, professor at the Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Basel, spoke unmistakably to the NZZ: "In this protest call, a language is being used that no longer speaks in support of a cause, such as for Palestinians. Rather, it is very clearly against something. Against Israel, and also against Jewish people. There are no subtleties left. This is a call for murder." This is unacceptable, according to Petry.
Since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, the number of antisemitically motivated assaults in Switzerland has risen sharply. In March 2024, a then 15-year-old Swiss national of Tunisian origin stabbed a Jewish father of a family in Zurich in an attack that the victim barely survived.
A pro-Palestine gathering in Bern in 2025 also illustrates the risks of such demonstrations: the event descended into violence, 18 police officers were injured and property damage ran into the millions.
Source: Blick