<div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Zurich police said today they were hiking security in front of Jewish institutions after a potentially antisemitic knife attack left an Orthodox Jewish man in serious condition.</b></div><div><br></div><div>Police in Switzerland’s largest city said the 50-year-old was “critically injured” in the attack late yesterday and a 15-year-old Swiss boy suspected of being the perpetrator had been arrested on site.</div><div><br></div><div>The statement said the motives for the attack were unclear, but that Zurich cantonal police and the youth prosecutor’s office in charge of the investigation were explicitly looking into the possibility that it was an “antisemitic crime”.</div><div><br></div><div>The police also said they had consulted with various Jewish institutions in the city following the incident and decided to increase security around the institutions as a “precautionary measure”.</div><div><br></div><div>The GRA Foundation working against racism and antisemitism condemned the attack, maintaining that witnesses had heard the alleged perpetrator shout “antisemitic slogans that suggest a hate crime”.</div><div><br></div><div>“It was not just an isolated case,” it said in a statement, adding that it was clearly part of a pattern linked to the tensions over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.</div><div><br></div><div>“Since the escalation in the Middle East, antisemitic incidents in Switzerland have skyrocketed,” it said.</div><div><br></div><div>Antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes have been on the rise in many countries since the current conflict began on Oct 7, when Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack inside Israel.</div><div><br></div><div>That attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures, and also saw the fighters abduct 250 hostages, of whom 130 remain in captivity, including 31 presumed dead, according to Israel.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel’s retaliatory offensive on the besieged Palestinian territory has killed more than 30,400 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.</div><div><br></div><div>“If the antisemitic motive is proven, the attack will represent a turning point and should not be viewed as just an isolated case,” GRA Foundation said.</div><div><br></div><div>“Such attacks threaten us all and our peaceful coexistence.” - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>