Swiss Town Slams the Chareidie "Chazeirim" For Littering, Calls To Refrain From Hosting Jews

 

DIN: I am well aware of the Swiss antisemites, may they all go to hell, and I don't believe the Gipfel Zeitung's report below. 

Having said that, Charedi tourists unfortunately leave garbage whenever they are in any tourist place, be it in the Bronx Zoo, The Liberty Science Center etc, etc. Even where they live it is filthy be it in the rat infested Bnei-Brak, Yerushlayim and Beit Shemesh Bet. Boro-Park is one big filth zone, you cannot walk thru 13th Avenue without smelling like a mountain goat. I realize that the garbage is from the stores, but there is garbage from people shopping all over the sidewalk. Candy wrappers with heimishe hashgachos, filthy diapers all over the place. It's time to teach basic "mentchlichkeit" in the schools. 

The town of Davos in Eastern Switzerland has gained fame and prominence due to the annual World Economic Forum conference held there during the winter months, which attracts leaders and celebrities from around the world. However the town is also a popular tourist retreat for thousands of Orthodox Jewish families in the summer months.

In recent weeks, tensions between the Jewish visitors and local Swiss residents have been rising due to behaviors by the tourists which offended locals, according to a Ynet report.

Last week, these tensions came to a head following a wave of complaints from local residents and property owners about excessive littering by tourists and rude behavior in public spaces.

Reto Branschi, director of the local tourism office, also levelled strong criticism at the  Jewish visitors in two interviews he gave to local media outlets. “Some of these visitor groups find it very difficult to respect local laws and the common ways of life here,” he said in one of the interviews.

However, a recent offense by one tourist proved a step too far for the local hospitality sector. Gipfel Zeitung, a small local newspaper, featured a front-page photo of feces left by Jewish guests on the balcony of a rental cabin, under the headline: Davos: A “s–t stain” on the balcony.

A 'shit stain' on the balcony - Gipfel Zeitung front page 

The newspaper stated, “This undoubtedly comes from someone of Jewish descent.”

According to the newspaper, the property owner claimed that “he had never experienced anything like this in all his years and has decided not to rent apartments to these people anymore,” expressing hope that the Davos tourism authorities would finally take action on the matter.

The local paper in Davos also published a letter to the editor saying this: “The behavior of Orthodox Jewish guests here in Davos is not only borderline at times, but downright presumptuous and transgressive. With all understanding for the suffering of the Jewish people, it was unacceptable that the descendants of the victims use behavior that cannot be reconciled with local customs, even in the most elementary way.”

The increasing local outrage against Jewish tourists is deeply troubling and embarrassing for the Swiss Jewish community, especially for Jonathan Kreutner, the Secretary General of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities.

For years, Kreutner has led a project in Davos designed to cultivate positive relations and address behavioral and cultural gaps between tourists and residents. However, Davos authorities have decided to halt their collaboration with him due to the growing number of complaints.

“In my view, the situation in Davos is very uncomfortable. Taking the inappropriate behavior of a few individuals and generalizing it to many is simply racist, and they are doing this only in the case of Jews, which makes it antisemitic,” Kreutner told Yedioth Ahronoth this week.

Kreutner, who has also lodged a police complaint following the headline, which he said “crosses all red lines,” added, “We don’t understand why the Davos tourism office has decided to cut ties with us. This will only exacerbate the situation. It seems that Davos has decided they simply no longer want Jewish tourists. They’ve made crude generalizations about all Jews based on the behavior of a few.”

Earlier this week, the canton of Graubünden, where Davos is located, reportedly opened an investigation into the newspaper headline, the behavior of the Jewish tourists and allegations of racism.

This issue has been covered extensively in Swiss mainstream media. According to a report in the Swiss newspaper Blick, the editor for Gipfel Zeitung refused to apologize for the picture and headline and denied accusations of racism. “I will only apologize if the person who did this comes to me and provides a reasonable explanation for their actions.”