A pro-Hamas demonstration in Zurich, Switzerland, Oct. 28, 2023. Photo: IMAGO/dieBildmanufaktur via Reuters Connect

Amid a surge in antisemitic incidents across Europe, anti-Israel demonstrators targeted synagogues in Poland and Switzerland over the weekend, heightening fears of further violence following last week’s antisemitic shooting in Washington, DC.

On Saturday, a pro-Hamas demonstration in Bern, the de facto capital of Switzerland, prompted a large-scale police operation and led to violent clashes as officers tried to contain the protest, leaving several police officers injured.

According to Swiss media reports, the march had not been authorized, yet around 2,000 protesters gathered and attempted to reach the city’s historic synagogue.

The demonstration was marked by antisemitic rhetoric and inflammatory chants, including the use of the banned slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The slogan is popular among anti-Israel activists and has been widely interpreted as a call for the destruction of the Jewish state, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Local law enforcement attempted to contain the violent protesters who were trying to reach the Jewish synagogue, using tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to bring the situation under control.

During the clashes, five police officers were injured after protesters attacked them with fireworks and hurled objects.

Violent clashes at the Pro Palestinian demonstration today in Bern, Switzerland. According to local reports, the demonstrators were trying to reach a synagogue but were stopped by police, pic.twitter.com/D38dRSMNJI

— Elad Simchayoff (@Elad_Si) May 24, 2025

Michel Ronen, co-chair of the Jewish Community of Bern (JGB), said these latest incidents underscore the increasing threat that Jews are facing nationwide.

“We are deeply concerned about the high potential for violence at pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Naturally, this also raises serious concerns within the Jewish community in Bern,” Ronen told the German newspaper Juedische Allgemeine.

“The fact that this radicalized group of protesters was able to get so close to the synagogue is a clear warning about the security risks facing Bern’s Jewish population. We urge the city of Bern to treat this serious threat with the utmost urgency,” he continued.

Jonathan Kreutner, secretary general of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG), condemned the fact that “radical pro-Palestinian protesters” were able to get so close to the synagogue on Saturday, expressing his full support for the local Jewish community.

“We strongly support the demand for heightened vigilance and the introduction of concrete, forward-thinking security measures in the city of Bern,” Kreutner said.

In a separate incident, anti-Israel agitators also set their sights on a Polish synagogue.

On Friday, an anti-Israel group burst into a synagogue in Bielsko-Biała — a city in southern Poland — disrupting a private Jewish event with antisemitic slogans, hateful rhetoric, and inflammatory chants.

The event at the historic synagogue in Bielsko-Biała was disrupted when members of a pro-Palestinian group stormed in mid-program, waving flags and shouting over Holocaust survivors taking part in the ceremony.

According to local media, Holocaust survivors and community members were subjected to antisemitic insults and slurs.

Following the incident, event organizers attributed the attack to incitement by members of Poland’s far-left Razem party, calling it “the most blatant act of antisemitism the city has witnessed in decades.”