>Last year, the Intercommunity Coordination Against Anti-Semitism and Defamation recorded 944 antisemitic incidents in French-speaking Switzerland — 70% more than in 2022. >GENEVA (AFP) — Switzerland is looking to ban the swastika, Hitler salute and other Nazi signs due to a rise in antisemitism, the federal government announced on Friday. >The Federal Council said in a statement that "banning symbols linked to the Third Reich has taken on a particular urgency due to the sharp increase in antisemitic incidents." >It proposes an immediate ban on "the use of Nazi symbols in public" and imposing a fine of about 200 Swiss francs ($224) on anyone who breaks the law. >The Swiss penal code will be amended to punish anyone who uses "a racist, extremist, Nazi symbol or one that advocates violence in order to propagate the ideology it represents." >Switzerland also wants to go further than banning the most well-known Nazi symbols, extending it to more cryptic signs of recognition used by supporters of Nazi ideology. >As such, use of the "18" — the first and eighth letter of the alphabet signifying Adolf Hitler's initials — and "88" — for "Heil Hitler" — will also fall foul of the proposed law. >"The context will play a decisive role in this case," the council said. >Exceptions are provided for educational, scientific, artistic or journalistic purposes but "within the limits of what freedom of expression allows," it added. . . [Source](https://www.courthousenews.com/switzerland-eyes-ban-on-nazi-symbols-due-to-surge-in-antisemitism/)