IL "REFERENDUM DEI MINARETI" IN SVIZZERA - WWW.LIVORNOEBRAICA.ORG

IL "REFERENDUM DEI MINARETI" IN SVIZZERA

La Federazione delle Comunità Ebraiche svizzere, con un netto comunicato, da tempo si era espressa contro il "referendum dei minareti" rilevando, tra l'altro,come la "coesistenza pacifica si fondi sui messaggi espressi in chiese, moschee e sinagoghe, non per come appaiono dall'esterno".
Da queste pagine voglio quindi soffermarmi brevemente sull'Italia,per esprimere solidarietà al mondo cristiano per la strumentalizzazione che subisce in queste ore tramite l'apparente ed ingannevole difesa del suo simbolo più noto, usato invece come arma di scontro politico da chi viene a proporre, penso peraltro pago del solo effetto mediatico, il suo inserimento nella bandiera italiana.
Paradossalmente a mettere a nudo l'uso strumentale che viene fatto in Italia,da taluni, del referendum svizzero è proprio uno dei suoi promotori,Oskar Freysinger,il quale sottolinea avversione "alle interferenze della religione nella sfera pubblica" e rileva come "la preghiera è un fatto privato"...mi viene in mente Mons. Plotti e la sua famosa disquisizione sugli "atei devoti"!

Gadi Polacco

LA FEDERAZIONE DELLE COMUNITA' EBRAICHE SVIZZERE

Wednesday, 28 Oct 2009

No laws creating exceptions! No to the ban on minarets!

The SIG, the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities and the PLJS, the Platform of Liberal Jews in Switzerland reaffirm their rejection of the initiative against the construction of minarets. They are speaking out firmly in favour of equal treatment and justice and against laws of any type which are intended to apply specifically to certain religious communities.

The referendum infringes religious freedom, a concept enshrined in the constitution. This freedom also covers the right of faith communities to build their places of worship subject to current building legislation.

The referendum also poses a threat to peaceful relations between the religions and inhibits the integration endeavours of Muslims in Switzerland.

As one of the oldest minorities in Switzerland, the Jewish community is now established and integrated in Swiss society. But precisely because the Jewish community has first hand experience of discrimination, it is committed to active opposition to discrimination and to action in favour of religious freedom and peaceful relations between the religions. This commitment is part and parcel of the Jewish tradition.

However, neither the SIG nor the PLJS close their eyes to the risk of extreme religious positions. They take seriously the fears of the population that extremist ideas could be disseminated in Switzerland. But banning minarets is no solution – it only creates in Muslims in Switzerland a sense of alienation and discrimination.

Peaceful co-existence is founded on the messages expressed in churches, mosques and synagogues, not on what they look like from the outside. The only real response to all forms of extremism is reinforcement of the principles underpinning the rule of law.

IL CONGRESSO MODIALE EBRAICO

Swiss vote overwhelmingly in favor of minaret ban

30 November 2009

In a nation-wide referendum, Swiss citizens voted in favor of banning the construction of minarets on mosques. The surprise result, in a country that has only four mosques with minarets and no major problems with Islamist militancy, has led to concerns that Switzerland’s trade relations with the Muslim world might suffer. Fifty-eight percent of voters supported the proposal, which initiated by the far-right Swiss People’s Party.  

Muslim organizations in Switzerland and abroad condemned the vote but called for a measured response. There were warm words of praise from Italy's Reform Minister, Roberto Calderoli, who told the news agency ANSA that a clear sign had come from Switzerland: "Yes to church towers, no to minarets". He said Switzerland should be a model for Italy in this respect.  

The Swiss Jewish Community Federation had campaigned against the ban: “Because the Jewish community knows what discrimination means it regards it as a duty to actively fight for religious freedom,” it said in a statement prior to the referendum.