SWISS WRITER WHO PRAISED HOLOCAUST DENIER WINS U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL POSITION

Ziegler wins U.N. advisory role (JTA)
A Swiss writer who praised a Holocaust denier won an advisory position to the U.N. Human Rights Council.  Jean Ziegler won 40 of 47 votes Wednesday to become one of 18 "expert" counselors.

His election to the Geneva-based council, dominated by anti-Western authoritarian states, was virtually guaranteed and U.N. Watch, a United Nations monitor, had campaigned to convince Switzerland to withdraw his nomination.

That culminated in a letter this week signed by 24 human rights activists and groups opposing Ziegler. Swiss officials dismissed the effort as politicking.

Ziegler, a leftist theorist, has praised and supported dictators including Cuba's Fidel Castro, Ethiopia's Haile Mengistu, Libya's Moammar Ghadafy, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and North Korea's Kim Il-Sung.

In 1996, Ziegler praised French Holocaust denier Roger Gaurady as "one of the leading thinkers of our time."

In interviews, Ziegler says his critics are puppets of his Western opponents and notes that he had helped expose how Swiss banks hoarded funds deposited by Jews during the Holocaust.

Also elected as an "expert" adviser to the council was Richard Falk, a Princeton emeritus professor who has likened Israel's dealings with the Palestinians to the Holocaust.

SWISS BLASTED FOR ANTI-ISRAEL UN VOTE

Swiss blasted for anti-Israel UN vote (JPost)
Switzerland has "joined forces with countries that have little regard for human rights" in its vote in support of a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Thursday condemning Israel over the escalating violence in Gaza, according to the American Jewish Committee.

In a letter to Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey on Sunday, the AJC blasted the move as "detrimental" to "efforts to rectify the situation in the Human Rights Council and even more importantly, to promote peace in the Middle East."

"Most appallingly, the resolution fails to even mention the terror attack perpetrated last week by a Palestinian gunman against a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem, in which eight students were murdered, although this heinous crime was committed on the same day that the Human Rights Council adopted its resolution," reads the letter, signed by AJC Director David Harris and President Richard Sideman.

The resolution condemning the situation in Gaza was adopted by a vote of 33 to one, with 16 abstentions. Canada was the only state to vote against the resolution, which made no mention of terrorism or Hamas.

All Western states abstained on the vote except Switzerland.

According to the AJC, "by some accounts, the Swiss delegation actively lobbied the EU and other countries to support the Arab-sponsored draft in exchange for minor amendments."

JEWS TOP SWISS HATE-CRIME VICTIMS LIST

Jews top Swiss hate-crime victims list (JTA)
Jews top the list of victims of discrimination in Switzerland, a new study says. The study, released by the Bern-based Federal Commission against Racism, found that between 1995 and 2004, more than a quarter of the 277 criminal proceedings on charges of breaking anti-discrimination laws involved discrimination against Jews.

The next-largest group of victims was foreigners, with 20 percent. Dark-skinned people were among the most likely targets, the study said.More than 80 percent of cases ended in a guilty verdict. According to the sentencing reports, about 12 percent of perpetrators were classified as right-wing extremist.

POLL: EUROPEANS INCREASINGLY HATE JEWS

Poll: Jews losing favor with Europeans (JTA)
A survey of six European countries found an increase in negative attitudes toward Jews.

The survey, conducted a month ago by the Anti-Defamation League in Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Holland, Switzerland and Britain, found favorable views of Israel on the rise and predominantly negative attitudes toward Iran and Hamas. But respondents said they had more sympathy for the Palestinians than for Israel, and negative attitudes toward Jews in general increased from a 2005 survey.

Approximately half the Europeans surveyed said Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their own country, and more than a third said Jews have too much power in business and finance. A majority of respondents in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland said they believe American Jews control U.S. policy on the Middle East.

“More than a decade after the fall of communism, we hoped that such anti-Jewish attitudes would have begun to diminish rather than increase,” ADL National Director Abraham Foxman said.

Asked about boycotts against Israel by British-based groups, 43 percent of British respondents said they opposed the boycotts while 37 percent expressed support for them.

Among the six countries polled, anti-Semitic attitudes were found to be lowest among respondents from the Netherlands.

GENEVA SYNAGOGUE TORCHED

Arson feared in Swiss synagogue fire (JPost)
Fire caused major damage to one of Geneva's synagogues early Thursday, and police said they suspect arson.

More than 40 firefighters were needed to extinguish the blaze, which broke out at 5 a.m. in the Hekhal Haness Synagogue in Geneva's Malagnou neighborhood. The fire was under control in an hour, but the blaze and smoke appeared to have destroyed most of the interior of the building, police spokesman Philippe Cosandey said.

"It's not clear whether the fire originated inside or outside the building or whether the fire was set," Cosandey told The Associated Press. But he added that investigators are presuming it may be arson because there appeared to be several sources of the fire.

Nobody was injured in the incident, police said. It was too early to give a damage estimate, said Cosandey.

There have been incidents of anti-Semitism in Geneva, including graffiti scrawled on a synagogue last year.

Although the windows and doors at the entrance were destroyed and the interior was blackened, a group of worshippers was praying in an inner courtyard to celebrate Shavuot Thursday morning. They used the Torah scroll that apparently survived the fire.

The library on the first floor of the synagogue was destroyed by the fire, Jose de Matos - who works as a keeper at the synagogue - told the AP. The main prayer room was not damaged, according to an AP reporter who was given access to the building.

"Nothing valuable protected inside the prayer room was damaged," de Matos said.

The main entrance was completely burnt out, with windows blown out and walls blackened by smoke. Police were removing wood and rubble from the entrance. A heavy smell of smoke hung in the air.

As the prayer service ended, members of the Jewish community were discussing how to arrange a wedding scheduled at the synagogue for Sunday.

HAMAS P.M. TO VISIT SWITZERLAND

Hamas PM to visit Switzerland (YNet)
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, shunned by much of the West as a leader of Islamist Hamas, will be hosted by Switzerland next month, the Palestinian foreign minister said on Friday.

Bern did not join major Western powers in boycotting the Palestinian Authority after Hamas, which opposes co-existence with Israel, took power a year ago. The diplomatic embargo has eased since Hamas formed a unity government with the secular faction Fatah last month, though curbs remain on donor aid.

"Haniyeh's visit to Switzerland will take place in May," Palestinian Foreign Minister Ziad Abu Amr said in a statement. Swiss officials were not immediately available for comment.

Amr's announcement followed a visit by Amr and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah to Geneva on Thursday.

After those talks, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey told reporters that Bern would have a "continuing dialogue" with the Palestinians.

Swiss annual aid to the Palestinians currently amounts to 30 million Swiss francs ($24.88 million), some two-thirds of which goes for humanitarian work, she said.