Study: 10 percent of Swiss anti-Semitic

Ten percent of the Swiss population is anti-Semitic, according to a recent study. The 10 percent, the study said, had “systematic anti-Semitic attitudes,” meaning across the board, Swiss news outlet NZZ online reported, while another 28 percent held some anti-Semitic views.Alfred Donath, president of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, told Swiss news agencies that the 10 percent figure was “worrying,” but noted that it had remained constant in recent years.Thirty-seven percent of those polled had a positive attitude toward Jews, and 55 percent said they held the country’s Jewish community of some 20,000 in high regard. But the majority of respondents, 54 percent, said Israel is governed by religious fanatics and 50 percent believed Israel is carrying out a “war of extermination” in the territories.The study, which was published last Friday, was carried out by the gfs polling institute for Switzerland’s Federal Commission against Racism in cooperation with the Jewish weekly magazine Tachles. Results were based on a poll of 1,030 people across Switzerland in February.