Press Release - 2025-07-01

According to official documents seen by both associations, a Swiss foundation with an ideal purpose - the Hella und Maurice A. Rosengarten-Stiftung - allegedly donated nearly half a million Swiss francs in 2023 to Elad, an Israeli settler organization active in occupied East Jerusalem. The Coalition of Lawyers for Palestine Switzerland (ASAP) and the Ligue suisse des droits humains-Genève (LSDH-Ge) have lodged a complaint with the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations. 

According to various human rights organizations and UN agencies, Elad contributes to the forced displacement of Palestinian families from their homes - a broader strategy aimed at strengthening the presence of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem. 

Settlements in occupied territory are illegal under international law. The International Court of Justice and the United Nations General Assembly have made it clear that Israel must evacuate all settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by September 19, 2025. It is also incumbent on all states - including Switzerland - to take the necessary measures to ensure that Israel respects international law and restores the rule of law in the occupied Palestinian territories. This requires the intervention of the competent authorities - in this case, the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations - to prevent any Swiss contribution to the maintenance of a profoundly illegal situation. 

Elad's actions also fall within the scope of acts that could potentially constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.

For the LSDH-GE and ASAP, it is clear that in the face of intensifying settler violence and dispossession, neither indirect support nor silence can be neutral. “The Swiss authorities have argued that their domestic legislation is sufficient to implement the duties incumbent on Switzerland under international law. They must therefore intervene actively, starting with the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations”, stresses Damien Scalia of the LSDH-GE. 

“Switzerland is the birthplace and home of international humanitarian law. That a Swiss foundation should finance actors involved in violations of this same law is deeply worrying," says ASAP President Majed Abusalama. “We call on the Swiss Federal Supervisory Authority for Foundations to intervene swiftly to put an end to this situation, and to do everything in its power to remedy any acts contrary to law, morality, the public interest or the foundation's statutes,” he adds.