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Switzerland: Police arrest man for pouring gas on synagogue

August 11, 2024

The 32-year-old Swiss national detained hours after the attack was described by police as "mentally disturbed." Jewish communities have witnessed a sharp rise in antisemitism since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in Gaza.

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Police stand guard outside the Agudas Achim synagogue after a man was stabbed, in Zurich, Switzerland, on March 2, 2024
Police believe the suspect in the synagogue attack acted aloneImage: ARND WIEGMANN/AFP/Getty Images

A man has been arrested for allegedly dousing a synagogue in Zurich with petrol, police in Switzerland said on Sunday.

The 32-year-old Swiss national was described by the Zurich municipal police as appearing to be "mentally disturbed."

Local media said the suspect spilled gas at the entrance to the Agudas Achim Synagogue, near the Wiedikon railway station, on Saturday evening but was caught by a security guard.

He fled the scene on foot, but after a police manhunt he was arrested early on Sunday morning.

Initial media reports said the attack was carried out by more than one person.

But police have said he acted alone and they don't believe there is an extremist motive for the attack. 

Knife attack at same synagogue

The Agudas Achim Synagogue was the scene of an antisemitic knife attack on an Orthodox Jewish man in March. The victim was critically injured in the attack.

A 15-year-old Swiss boy was arrested in connection with that attack.

Report says cases of antisemitism in Germany on the rise: DW's Giulia Saudelli

Antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes have been on the rise across Europe since Hamas militants carried out unprecedented attacks inside Israel on October 7, which sparked Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

A survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found some Jewish organizations have reported a 400% increase in antisemitism since the war began.

Three out of four Jewish respondents said they felt people hold them responsible for the Israeli government's actions. Some 80% felt antisemitism had grown in the European country where they live in the five years before the survey.

mm/rmt (AFP, KNA)