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Author: Dr. Simon Erlanger

Simon Erlanger is a journalist and historian. He was born in Switzerland in 1965 and educated in Basel and Jerusalem. A former employee of the Yad Vashem Archives in Jerusalem, he presently teaches Jewish history at the University of Lucerne. He also works as an editor for Telebasel, a television station for northwestern Switzerland.
Swiss Jewry: Between Continuity and Decline

Swiss Jewry: Between Continuity and Decline

March 1, 2015 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
INTRODUCTION In 2010,1 after 146 years2 of continuous existence, the Jewish community of Lucerne seemed to be on the verge of disappearance.3 There were only sixty, mostly elderly members. Hugo Benjamin, head of Lucerne’s Jewish community, announced to the media: “I do not know how to go on. In the whole of the canton of […]
A Special Case? Direct Swiss Democracy, the European Debate on Islam, and the Diminishing Political Stature of Swiss Jewry

A Special Case? Direct Swiss Democracy, the European Debate on Islam, and the Diminishing Political Stature of Swiss Jewry

February 1, 2012 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
No. 115, 1 February 2012/ 7 Shevat, 5772 For some time now Switzerland has been at the forefront of the European debate on Islam, Islamism, and Islamization. The country is thereby abandoning its traditional approach of safeguarding its neutrality, staying on the sidelines of any major European conflict, and keeping out of the respective great […]
The Controversy on the Lost Jewish Accounts in Swiss Banks and Its Aftermath

The Controversy on the Lost Jewish Accounts in Swiss Banks and Its Aftermath

October 1, 2010 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
The affair of the dormant, or lost, Jewish accounts in Swiss banks is still seen today by a large part of the Swiss population not as an attempt to achieve historic justice, but as an outright attack not only on Swiss banking but on Swiss identity and on Switzerland as a whole. The notion of "Jewish blackmail" is still rampant.
Real, Imaginary, and Symbolic Roles of Jews in Swiss Society

Real, Imaginary, and Symbolic Roles of Jews in Swiss Society

April 27, 2010 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
“The Anti-Germans” – The Pro-Israel German Left

“The Anti-Germans” – The Pro-Israel German Left

June 30, 2009 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
Muslims and Jews in Switzerland

Muslims and Jews in Switzerland

September 21, 2008 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
Simon Erlanger on Insel der Aufklärung: Israel im Kontext, vol. 3, Schriften zur politischen Bildung, Kultur und Kommunikation (Island of Enlightenment: Israel in Context, vol. 3, Papers on Political

Simon Erlanger on Insel der Aufklärung: Israel im Kontext, vol. 3, Schriften zur politischen Bildung, Kultur und Kommunikation (Island of Enlightenment: Israel in Context, vol. 3, Papers on Political

April 19, 2008 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
Is There a Future for Jews in Switzerland?

Is There a Future for Jews in Switzerland?

March 15, 2007 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
Simon Erlanger on Hurra, wir kapitulieren: Von der Lust am Einknicken

Simon Erlanger on Hurra, wir kapitulieren: Von der Lust am Einknicken

March 1, 2007 | Dr. Simon Erlanger
The Politics of “Transmigration”: Why Jewish Refugees had to Leave Switzerland from 1944 to 1954

The Politics of “Transmigration”: Why Jewish Refugees had to Leave Switzerland from 1944 to 1954

March 21, 2006 | Dr. Simon Erlanger