Swiss police have launched an investigation into a ski rental company in Davos that advertised in Hebrew that it would no longer rent sports equipment to Jewish customers. The poster in the shop window stated “We no longer lend sports equipment to our Jewish brothers” because it was often not returned and its employees no longer wanted “the hassle” of walking the mountainsides looking for abandoned sleds, the business said in a statement.
The store, located in the city that hosts the World Economic Forum every year, removed the signage 24 hours later following a wave of protests. However, prosecutors believe that the case represents a clear violation of Swiss laws against discrimination and incitement to racial or religious hatred. The incident coincides with the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe after the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7 and the war in Gaza.
The Swiss Association of Israelite Communities has taken its own legal action against the shop, which is part of the Pischa mountain restaurant. It denounced the posters as clearly discriminatory. The mayor of Davos, Philip Wilhelm, told Swiss media that “this has no place” in the city. “All forms of anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination must be condemned,” he emphasized.
The manager insisted that the poster was “poorly written”. He apologized and made it clear that Jewish customers were welcome, but Swiss anti-racism groups point out that attacking an entire race, religion or ethnic group because of the allegedly bad behavior of a few is more serious than clumsy language; in fact, it is a classic sign of racism and discrimination. A more effective way to prevent theft and damage, they say, is to do what many ski rental companies already do: ask customers for identification and a credit card.