While other Swiss kehillos are on the decline, Basel’s small community is actually thriving
Photos: MB Goldstein
There’s something unique about Basel — and it’s not the Alps, which are nowhere in sight in Switzerland’s third-largest city, nestled in the Rhine valley.
We’re here to visit because Basel today is the only “out of town” Swiss Jewish community to still be thriving, or even in existence, bucking the trend of decline among smaller European kehillos. For context, Zurich is Switzerland’s largest community, therefore considered “in town.” The Lucerne and Lugano kehillos have both sadly disappeared from the map; Geneva straddles the Swiss-French border and is often considered more closely linked to French Jewry than Swiss.
But Basel Jewry is proud of its kollel and the young families who call it home and is actively looking to attract more. Although they have limited kosher amenities, our Basler hosts assure us they are lacking nothing: “What’s the best thing about Zurich? The express train back to Basel.”
After Shacharis in the IRG (Israelitische Religionsgesellschaft) shul, and a glimpse of the exterior of the city’s main synagogue, our picnic breakfast in a local park is joined by several tame storks. We use a clearly marked tram service to get downtown, a fairly short journey traversing clean wide streets with well-bred citizens, and yes, the occasional Jewish person, with cap and backpack and even visible tzitzis.
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