Zurich teen who stabbed Jewish man had pledged loyalty to ISIS

The Swiss teenager who stabbed an Orthodox Jewish man on Saturday had pledged loyalty to Islamic State and described himself as a soldier of the caliphate, Swiss Government Councillor Mario Fehr said Monday in a press briefing.

He confirmed the validity of a video posted by the 15-year-old, Swiss-born assailant of Tunisian descent, who also shouted in Arabic about jihad during the attack.

The four-minute video was uploaded several hours before the attack, the Middle East Media Research Institute said. The terrorist said he was conducting the attack in response to ISIS spokesman Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari’s call to target Jews and Christians.

“You have seen what the Jews and crusaders have done to the Muslims in their homelands and also how they installed proxies from the apostates and [Shi’ites],” MEMRI quoted the terrorist as saying. “Take up knives that cut, gunshots that split, bombs that burn, and rammings with buses and trucks. Go after the Jews and Christians, and their allies from the Rafidites and apostates. Have no mercy on them, like they have no mercy on our brothers.

“As for one who believes that waging war on the Jews can only be in Palestine, he is mistaken, for the Jews are found in many areas in Asia, Europe, and Africa. So go after them, o monotheist. Go after their allies from the Christians and apostates, the men of the police and the armies. These borders of Palestine were drawn by the crusaders for you so that you would be shackled by them. Waging war on the Jews [can be done] on every land and under every sky.”

The terrorist also said the Swiss government could not be neutral and would pay for being part of the “crusader” coalition against ISIS, according to MEMRI.

Fehr condemned the attack and pledged to protect the Jewish citizens of Zurich.

Antisemitism reaches new levels in Switzerland

The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) on Sunday said the Zurich police, supported by the Canton police, were increasing security at Jewish sites. SIG said it had also increased its security measures.

While physical attacks in Switzerland were rare, they and other antisemitic incidents had increased since the October 7 massacre in Israel, SIG said.

“The hatred of Jewish people has reached a frightening new level with this knife attack,” SIG president Ralph Lewin said. “A community member was brutally targeted in the middle of Zurich, for no personal reasons and just because he looked Jewish.”

Despite the community’s fears, Jewish life had to continue, he said.

Hundreds of people gathered in solidarity against antisemitism at the site of the stabbing, the European Jewish Congress said Tuesday. The activists carried yellow umbrellas and banners that said, “Never again is now.”

Bystanders had rushed to restrain the attacker, Zurich City Councilor Jehuda Spielman told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday, adding that people should pay attention to the role of Zurich’s citizens in taking a stand against the antisemitic attack.

Fehr and SIG said they hoped the victim would have a speedy recovery from the multiple stab wounds. The 50-year-old victim had a long road to recovery, Spielman said.