Swiss politician sparks backlash after calling Zurich Shabbat boundary a ‘Jewish ghetto’

Jewish organizations and community leaders strongly rejected the comparison, calling it offensive and inaccurate.

By Abe Mermelstien, Jewish Breaking News

A controversy has erupted in Switzerland after a senior lawmaker compared a newly established Shabbat boundary in Zurich to a “Jewish ghetto,” upsetting many rabbis and community leaders in the area.

The boundary, recently completed in Zurich after consultations with city authorities, is designed to help Orthodox Jews carry things outdoors on Shabbat.

Community leaders say the project was approved through a formal process with municipal officials and represents cooperation between the Jewish community and local government.

However, the project quickly became the center of a political storm after Mauro Poggia, a member of Switzerland’s Council of States representing Geneva, publicly criticized it.

In remarks addressing the eruv, Poggia said he was “shocked” by its creation and suggested it could result in a clear Jewish residential area, which he described as a form of “voluntary ghetto.”

Jewish organizations and community leaders strongly rejected the comparison, calling it offensive and inaccurate.

Rabbis emphasized that the boundary is not a physical barrier or segregated zone but a symbolic halachic boundary that allows families to push strollers, carry keys, or assist elderly relatives on Shabbos.

Rabbi Noam Hertig, the chief rabbi of Zurich, said the boundary was created through cooperation with city authorities and serves an important role for families, seniors, and people with disabilities who might otherwise be confined to their homes on Shabbat.

Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, said linking the eruv to historical ghettos distorts both Jewish law and history while creating unnecessary tensions.