Pork and pig images used in assaults on Swiss synagogues

Pork products and a pig effigy were used in antisemitic assaults against synagogues in two Swiss cities within a few days of one another, sparking concern among Jewish groups.

After a pack of bacon and a stuffed toy pig were left outside a synagogue in Lausanne, the CICAD, a leading Swiss Jewish communal organisation, posted on Twitter, saying: “Acts of this nature are an insult to any Jew and take on a highly symbolic dimension when they are committed in a synagogue. These are serious facts which must challenge our authorities and our fellow citizens.”

Four days later, a woman threw slices of pork at a Liberal synagogue in Geneva. CICAD said that criminal complaints would be filed.

The group also issued a statement explaining why the incident was “far from trivial”. It was reminiscent, the group said, of the ancient antisemitic Judensau (a folk art image of a Jews engaged in obscene contact with a female pig) used in anti-Jewish texts and art and in Nazi imagery and cartoons. Its use has been especially prevalent in German-speaking countries, the statement noted.

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