Switzerland seeks to ban Nazi symbols amid surge in antisemitism

13 December 2024 , 22:15

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Switzerland seeks to ban Nazi symbols amid surge in antisemitism

Proposed ban would cover the swastika and Hitler salute but also more cryptic symbols used by the far right

Switzerland is seeking to ban the swastika, Hitler salute and other Nazi signs due to a rise in antisemitism, the federal government has announced.

The Federal Council said in a statement that “banning symbols linked to the Third Reich has taken on a particular urgency due to the sharp increase in antisemitic incidents”. 

It has proposed an immediate ban on the use of Nazi symbols in public and the imposition of a fine of about 200 Swiss francs (£177) on anyone who breaks the law.

The Swiss penal code will be amended to punish anyone who uses a “racist, extremist, Nazi symbol or one that advocates violence in order to propagate the ideology it represents”. 

Switzerland also wants to go further than banning the most well-known Nazi symbols, extending it to more cryptic signs of recognition used by supporters of Nazi ideology.

As such, use of the “18” – the first and eighth letter of the alphabet signifying Adolf Hitler’s initials – and “88” – for “Heil Hitler” – will also fall foul of the proposed law.

“The context will play a decisive role in this case,” the council said.

Exceptions are provided for educational, scientific, artistic or journalistic purposes but “within the limits of what freedom of expression allows”, it added.

Existing religious symbols that are identical or similar to Nazi symbols will not be affected.

Consultation on the proposed ban will run until 31 March next year and includes a separate future outlawing of “other extremist symbols”.

As elsewhere in Europe, the number of antisemitic incidents have surged in Switzerland in recent years, particularly after the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip sparked by the militants’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

Last year, the Intercommunity Coordination Against Antisemitism and Defamation recorded 944 antisemitic incidents in French-speaking Switzerland – 70% more than in 2022.

“This considerable increase is largely due to the Israel-Hamas conflict which has served and continues to serve as a pretext for the surge in antisemitism,” the group said in its annual report.

In German- and Italian-speaking areas of Switzerland, the increase was less marked, rising from 910 incidents in 2022 to 1,130 last year, according to the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the Foundation Against Racism & Antisemitism (GRA).

James Smith