Swiss authorities arrested a teenager after stabbing and critically wounding an Orthodox Jewish man in Zurich on the evening of March 2nd, with the authorities saying the suspect appeared in a video expressing solidarity with the Islamic State group and even calling himself a “soldier” in its self-described caliphate.
Swiss police say the 15-year-old suspect in the stabbing of an Orthodox Jewish man in Zurich appeared in a video expressing solidarity with ISIS, calling himself a “soldier” in its self-described caliphate #terrorism https://t.co/LwFqvK9xRm
— Phil Gurski (@borealissaves) March 11, 2024
Mario Fehr, the city’s cantonal police security chief, told the media on March 5th that the police are still investigating whether the teen, who was not identified, acted alone or as part of a group. He added that the suspect is a Swiss national.
“He refers to the IS (Islamic State), describes himself as a soldier of the caliphate,” Fehr said regarding the video where the teenage suspect appeared, further denouncing the stabbing as a “terrorist” and “antisemitic” attack. The suspect was arrested on the scene.
Keep importing savages
— Eioan (@dcxlr8) March 2, 2024
Fehr said that in a video, the suspect referred to the attack in Arabic and called for a “battle against the Jews.” Police also said the 50-year-old victim was critically injured, but his life was no longer in danger. As a precaution, Swiss authorities have stepped up security around certain places with any Jewish connections.
Switzerland was largely spared from terrorist attacks across Western Europe and beyond in the mid-2010s when the Islamic State (IS) was formed and took large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and was drawing radical fighters from all over the world to join its self-described caliphate.
A motive for the attack could not be determined
— Judith Lynn (@LynnLynzal) March 4, 2024
Jewish community leaders, rights groups, authorities, and others in Switzerland and all over the world have denounced a surge of antisemitism since the deadly surprise attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7th that saw 1,200 Israelis killed. Since then, the Israeli government has started a massive and ferocious military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, leading to over 30,000 people dead.
