Swiss police probe ‘anti-Semitic discrimination’ at Davos ski station
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Winter sports equipment – including sleds, air boards and snowshoes – was no longer being rented out to Jewish visitors, according to a sign at the Pischa ski station.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PIXABAY
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GENEVA – Swiss police on Feb 12 said they had launched an investigation after reports that a ski station in the Alpine resort of Davos was refusing to rent sports equipment to Jewish people.
The 20 Minuten newspaper published a picture of a sign put up at the plush Pischa station above Davos, the resort known for hosting the annual World Economic Forum gathering
The sign, in Hebrew, said that due to various troubling incidents, “including the theft of a sled, we no longer rent sports equipment to our Jewish brothers”.
The policy applies to all winter sports equipment, including sleds, air boards and snowshoes, it said, ending with “thank you for your understanding”.
The newspaper said the station had said in a written statement that it no longer wants “the daily hassle” of Jewish guests leaving sledges on the slopes, or equipment not being returned, or “returned defective”.
In a video published by Blick newspaper, Mr Ruedi Pfiffner, the manager of the Pischa hotel-restaurant, said: “The notice was certainly worded incorrectly, and I apologise for that.”
He said that Jewish guests “are still welcome. I’m ready to talk to those affected”.
AFP has contacted Pischa for comment.
The Graubunden cantonal police force said it had begun an investigation into “discrimination and incitement to hatred,” having received a report from an individual.
“Further details are the subject of ongoing investigations,” it told AFP.
‘Open and undisguised’ discrimination
The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities said it was launching legal action.
“The poster is undisputedly discriminatory,” its general secretary, Mr Jonathan Kreutner, said in a statement sent to AFP.
“An entire group of guests is being collectively labelled because of their appearance and origin. Completely open and undisguised.
“We will be taking legal action and will be filing a charge for violation of the anti-racism norm.”
Mr Kreutner also claimed that in Davos, “just last summer, the local tourism organisation put its cooperation with us and our dialogue project on ice”.
“It is obvious that there is a lot going wrong here.”
The Zurich-based Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism noted that this was not the first time tensions had arisen in Davos between locals and tourists, “some of whom are Orthodox Jews”.
In a statement sent to AFP, it called the Pischa ski station’s actions “serious anti-Semitic discrimination”.
The Davoser Zeitung newspaper said in August 2023 that between 3,000 and 4,000 Orthodox Jewish people took holidays at the resort in summer that year, noting then that there was “increasing criticism of the behaviour of these tourists”.
In 2017, an apartment hotel in the neighbouring village of Arosa posted signs telling Jewish clients to shower before using the pool, triggering outrage and official complaints from Israel.
The hotel was reportedly very popular with ultra-Orthodox Jewish guests because it had been accommodating to their needs, including access to a freezer to store kosher food. AFP
