A pro-Palestinian group is calling for an anti-Israel demonstration in Basel, Switzerland, on August 29, exactly 129 years after Theodor Herzl opened the First Zionist Congress in the city, according to a report by German Jewish newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine.
The planned protest has drawn attention over its slogan, “Death to Zionism,” and imagery used in a flyer promoting the event. It remains unclear, however, whether the demonstration will actually take place. Basel-Stadt cantonal police said they have not received an application for a permit.
The protest is being promoted on social media by a group calling itself “basel4palestine.” Public demonstrations and rallies in the canton require authorization, and police generally ask organizers to submit applications at least two weeks in advance.
Authorities declined to say how they would respond if the gathering were held without a permit, saying they would not disclose operational plans, tactics or deployment arrangements in advance.
According to Jüdische Allgemeine, one of the most striking elements of the protest material is the phrase “Death to Zionism.” The promotional flyer also reportedly shows an Israeli tank marked by a downward-pointing triangle. The newspaper said the symbol resembles markings used to identify Israeli targets in Hamas propaganda videos.
The report noted that the slogan is directed not simply against the policies of a particular Israeli government but against Zionism itself. The Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, known by its German acronym SIG, expressed concern over the planned demonstration.
The organization’s secretary-general, Jonathan Kreutner, called on authorities to identify those behind the protest and prosecute them if they organize an unauthorized demonstration. He warned that such rhetoric could also be directed against Jews and contribute to a sense of insecurity among Jewish communities.
The choice of August 29 carries particular historical weight. On August 29, 1897, Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in Basel, bringing together hundreds of Jewish representatives from communities across different countries.
The three-day gathering, which continued through August 31, became a defining moment in the development of political Zionism.
Herzl in the famous photograph taken in Basel in 1901
The Congress adopted the Basel Program, which set out the movement’s goal of establishing a national home for the Jewish people, and laid the organizational foundations for what would become the World Zionist Organization. Herzl was elected its president. He later famously wrote in his diary: “At Basel I founded the Jewish State.” Israel was established more than five decades later, in 1948.