At ‘Death to Zionism’ Protest in Switzerland, Demonstrators Praise Hamas, Call for Israel’s Destruction

At a “Free Palestine, Death to Zionism” protest held in Basel, Switzerland, last weekend, demonstrators defended Hamas as a “resistance organization” and called for the State of Israel’s destruction.

The rally coincided with the 129th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress, convened by Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl in Basel in 1897.

Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) Executive Director of European Affairs Shannon Seban went undercover to document Saturday’s event firsthand, interviewing participants.

Watch Seban’s video HERE:

 

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“Zionism is like fascism,” one demonstrator told Seban. “A very genocidal ideology.”

“It’s an ideology that should be illegal, or just abolished in general,” another asserted, equating Zionism with “ideologies in the Second World War, like Nazism.”

A total of 2,962 antisemitic incidents were monitored across Europe by CAM’s Antisemitism Research Center (ARC) in 2025, nearly a 50% rise from 2024.

Bâle 🇨🇭 | 29 août 2026 – À l’occasion du 129ᵉ anniversaire du premier Congrès sioniste, des manifestants pro-palestiniens se sont rassemblés lors d’une manifestation non autorisée sous le slogan : « Free Palestine, Death to Zionism ».

Avec le @CombatASemitism, je me suis… pic.twitter.com/SanmcMUaYC

— Shannon Seban (@ShannonSeban) September 3, 2026

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