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World Conference against Racism

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The World Conference Against Racism ( WCAR ) is a series of international events organized by UNESCO to promote struggle against racism ideologies and behaviours. Five conferences have been held so far, in 1978, 1983, 2001, 2009 and 2021. Founded after World War II and the Holocaust as a dependent body of the United Nations, UNESCO started as soon as it was created to promote scientific studies concerning ethnic groups and their diffusion in public opinion to dispel pseudo-scientific rationalizations of racism. One of its first published works was The Race Question in 1950, signed by various internationally renowned scholars.

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130-715: The 1978 World Conference Against Racism was held in Geneva , Switzerland. A major focus on the conference was South Africa's apartheid policies of racial segregation and discrimination. This included condemnation of Israel–South Africa relations (in particular economic and military cooperation), a request that the United Nations Security Council consider "imposition of comprehensive and mandatory sanctions" on South Africa and other "racist regimes of southern Africa", and other criticism of apartheid in South Africa. There

260-591: A Local Grouping of Transnational Cooperation  [ fr ] ( GLCT in French, a public entity under Swiss law) in charge of organizing cooperation within the cross-border metropolitan area of Geneva (in particular metropolitan transports). The Grand Genève GLCT extends over 1,996 km (771 sq mi) and had a population of 1,046,168 in Jan. 2021 (Swiss estimates and French census), 58.3% of them living on Swiss territory, and 41.7% on French territory. Geneva

390-671: A crime against humanity , and reparations called as such. The Europeans pulled together behind the UK and the best the Africans could get was a call for support for the New African Initiative , debt relief, funds to combat AIDS, the recovery of stolen government funds transferred to the West by former dictators and their cohorts, and an end to the trafficking in people . But the word 'reparations' did not survive. The 2009 World Conference Against Racism

520-493: A Jew upon baptism ." From the perspective of racial antisemitism, however, "the assimilated Jew was still a Jew, even after baptism.[...] From the Enlightenment onward, it is no longer possible to draw clear lines of distinction between religious and racial forms of hostility towards Jews[...] Once Jews have been emancipated and secular thinking makes its appearance, without leaving behind the old Christian hostility towards Jews,

650-554: A Semitic language. Though 'antisemitism' could be construed as prejudice against people who speak other Semitic languages, this is not how the term is commonly used. The term may be spelled with or without a hyphen (antisemitism or anti-Semitism). Many scholars and institutions favor the unhyphenated form. Shmuel Almog argued, "If you use the hyphenated form, you consider the words 'Semitism', 'Semite', 'Semitic' as meaningful ... [I]n antisemitic parlance, 'Semites' really stands for Jews, just that." Emil Fackenheim supported

780-526: A child or children. There were 1,852 households that were made up of unrelated people and 3,038 households that were made up of some sort of institution or another collective housing. In 2000 , there were 743 single family homes (or 10.6% of the total) out of a total of 6,990 inhabited buildings. There were 2,758 multi-family buildings (39.5%), along with 2,886 multi-purpose buildings that were mostly used for housing (41.3%) and 603 other use buildings (commercial or industrial) that also had some housing (8.6%). Of

910-702: A collective manifested in individuals as attitudes, and in culture as myth, ideology, folklore and imagery, and in actions—social or legal discrimination, political mobilization against the Jews, and collective or state violence—which results in and/or is designed to distance, displace, or destroy Jews as Jews." Elaborating on Fein's definition, Dietz Bering of the University of Cologne writes that, to antisemites, "Jews are not only partially but totally bad by nature, that is, their bad traits are incorrigible. Because of this bad nature: (1) Jews have to be seen not as individuals but as

1040-442: A collective. (2) Jews remain essentially alien in the surrounding societies. (3) Jews bring disaster on their 'host societies' or on the whole world, they are doing it secretly, therefore the anti-Semites feel obliged to unmask the conspiratorial, bad Jewish character." For Swiss historian Sonja Weinberg , as distinct from economic and religious anti-Judaism , antisemitism in its specifically modern form shows conceptual innovation,

1170-543: A compromise was preferred at any price. And this, despite the fact that in the documents prepared for the rendezvous in Geneva, apart from a few minor improvements, a basic approach has been maintained equating Israel with a racist country rather than a democracy. There are still unacceptable phrases which, if there had been a smidgen of consistency with what was said at the EU ministers' meeting, should have convinced people to forgo attending

1300-454: A favourable Franco-Swiss tax regime for French residents working in Switzerland. The official language of Geneva (both the city and the canton) is French . English is also common due to a high number of Anglophone residents working in international institutions and the bank sector. In 2000 there were 128,622 residents, or 72.3% of the population, who spoke French as a first language. English

1430-527: A large number of residents were members of neither group. Geneva forms part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg . Antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against, Jews . This sentiment is a form of racism , and a person who harbours it is called an antisemite . Primarily, antisemitic tendencies may be motivated by negative sentiment towards Jews as

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1560-509: A lowest price per square metre (11 sq ft) of 4,874 Swiss francs (CHF), and a maximum price of 21,966 Swiss francs (CHF). William Monter calculates that the city's total population was 12,000–13,000 in 1550, doubling to over 25,000 by 1560. The historical population is given in the following chart: The 2000 census recorded 66,491 residents (37.4% of the population) as Catholic, while 41,289 people (23.20%) belonged to no church or were agnostic or atheist , 24,105 (13.5%) belonged to

1690-686: A member of the Municipal Council. The Council holds its meetings in the Town Hall ( Hôtel de Ville ), in the old city. The last election of the Municipal Council was held on 15   March 2020 for the term 2020–2025. Currently, the Municipal Council consists of: 19 members of the Social Democratic Party (PS), 18 Green Party (PES), 14 Les Libéraux-Radicaux (PLR), 8 Christian Democratic People's Party ; (PDC) 7 Geneva Citizens' Movement (MCG), 7 Ensemble à Gauche (an alliance of

1820-578: A misnomer by those who incorrectly assert (in an etymological fallacy ) that it refers to racist hatred directed at " Semitic people " in spite of the fact that this grouping is an obsolete historical race concept . Likewise, such usage is erroneous; the compound word antisemitismus was first used in print in Germany in 1879 as a " scientific-sounding term " for Judenhass ( lit.   ' Jew-hatred ' ), and it has since been used to refer to anti-Jewish sentiment alone. The word "Semitic"

1950-604: A misnomer. The word Judeophobia first appeared in his pamphlet " Auto-Emancipation ", published anonymously in German in September 1882, where it was described as an irrational fear or hatred of Jews. According to Pinsker, this irrational fear was an inherited predisposition. Judeophobia is a form of demonopathy, with the distinction that the Jewish ghost has become known to the whole race of mankind, not merely to certain races... Judeophobia

2080-414: A non-religious perspective ) in which he used the word Semitismus interchangeably with the word Judentum to denote both "Jewry" (the Jews as a collective) and "Jewishness" (the quality of being Jewish, or the Jewish spirit). He accused the Jews of a worldwide conspiracy against non-Jews, called for resistance against "this foreign power", and claimed that "there will be absolutely no public office, even

2210-412: A one-room apartment was 641.60 CHF (US$ 510, £290, €410), a two-room apartment was about 874.46 CHF (US$ 700, £390, €560), a three-room apartment was about 1126.37 CHF (US$ 900, £510, €720) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 2691.07 CHF (US$ 2150, £1210, €1720). The average apartment price in Geneva was 104.2% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010 ,

2340-419: A people or by negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism . In the former case, usually presented as racial antisemitism , a person's hostility is driven by the belief that Jews constitute a distinct race with inherent traits or characteristics that are repulsive or inferior to the preferred traits or characteristics within that person's society. In the latter case, known as religious antisemitism ,

2470-412: A person's hostility is driven by their religion's perception of Jews and Judaism, typically encompassing doctrines of supersession that expect or demand Jews to turn away from Judaism and submit to the religion presenting itself as Judaism's successor faith—this is a common theme within the other Abrahamic religions . The development of racial and religious antisemitism has historically been encouraged by

2600-454: A population of 1,046,168 in Jan. 2021 (Swiss estimates and French census), 58.3% of them living on Swiss territory, and 41.7% on French territory. Geneva does not have any sister relationships with other cities. It declares itself related to the entire world. The city of Geneva ( ville de Genève ) had a population 203,856 in 2021 (Jan. estimate) within its small municipal territory of 16 km (6 sq mi). The city of Geneva

2730-504: A racist government in the occupied Palestine". He continued, through an interpreter: "And in fact, in compensation for the dire consequences of racism in Europe, they helped bring to power the most cruel and repressive racist regime in Palestine." French Ambassador Jean-Baptiste Mattei said: "As soon as he started to address the question of the Jewish people and Israel, we had no reason to stay in

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2860-438: A refuge. Most Zionists do not believe that antisemitism can be combatted with education or other means. The contextual approach treats antisemitism as a type of racism and focuses on the historical context in which hatred of Jews emerges. Some contextualists restrict the use of "antisemitism" to refer exclusively to the era of modern racism, treating anti-Judaism as a separate phenomenon. Historian David Engel has challenged

2990-481: A resort to "science" to defend itself, new functional forms, and organisational differences. It was anti-liberal, racialist and nationalist. It promoted the myth that Jews conspired to 'judaise' the world ; it served to consolidate social identity; it channeled dissatisfactions among victims of the capitalist system; and it was used as a conservative cultural code to fight emancipation and liberalism. In 2003, Israeli politician Natan Sharansky developed what he called

3120-410: A standard different from that applied to others, and they are accused of "cosmic evil". Thus, "it is perfectly possible to hate and even to persecute Jews without necessarily being anti-Semitic" unless this hatred or persecution displays one of the two features specific to antisemitism. There have been a number of efforts by international and governmental bodies to define antisemitism formally. In 2005,

3250-522: A state of Israel is a racist endeavor, can be a manifestation of antisemitism—as can applying double standards by requiring of Israel a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation, or holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the State of Israel. The EUMC working definition was adopted by the European Parliament Working Group on Antisemitism in 2010, by

3380-459: A total of 85,330 apartments (83.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 13,644 apartments (13.4%) were seasonally occupied and 2,820 apartments (2.8%) were empty. As of 2009 , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.3 new units per 1000 residents. As of 2003 , the average price to rent an average apartment in Geneva was 1163.30 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$ 930, £520, €740 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for

3510-700: A transcript. In September 2021, the UN General Assembly commemorated the 20th anniversary of its 2001 conference by pledging to redouble its anti-racist efforts. The event was boycotted by Albania, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay. The European Union also did not participate or speak at

3640-447: A unique distinction with municipalities such as New York City ( global headquarters of the UN ), Basel ( Bank for International Settlements ), and Strasbourg ( Council of Europe ) as a city which serves as the headquarters of at least one critical international organization without being the capital of a country. The city has been referred to as the world's most compact metropolis and

3770-411: Is a Jewish state , expressions of anti-Zionist positions could harbour antisemitic sentiments. Natan Sharansky describes the "3D" test to determine the existence of such antisemitism: demonizing Israel, the double standard of criticizing Israel disproportionately to other countries, and delegitimizing Israel's right to exist . Due to the root word Semite , the term is prone to being invoked as

3900-686: Is a global city , a financial centre , and a worldwide centre for diplomacy due to the presence of numerous international organizations , including the headquarters of many agencies of the United Nations and the ICRC and IFRC of the Red Cross . In the aftermath of World War I , it hosted the League of Nations . It was where the Geneva Conventions on humanitarian treatment in war were signed. It shares

4030-423: Is a psychic disorder. As a psychic disorder, it is hereditary, and as a disease transmitted for two thousand years it is incurable... Thus have Judaism and Jew-hatred passed through history for centuries as inseparable companions... Having analyzed Judeophobia as a hereditary form of demonopathy, peculiar to the human race, and represented Jew-hatred as based upon an inherited aberration of the human mind, we must draw

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4160-643: Is at the centre of the Geneva metropolitan area , a Functional Urban Area (as per Eurostat methodology) which extends over Swiss territory (entire Canton of Geneva and part of the canton of Vaud ) and French territory (parts of the departments of Ain and Haute-Savoie ). The Geneva Functional Urban Area covers a land area of 2,292 km (885 sq mi) (24.2% in Switzerland, 75.8% in France) and had 1,053,436 inhabitants in Jan. 2021 (Swiss estimates and French census), 57.8% of them on Swiss territory and 42.2% on French territory. The Geneva metropolitan area

4290-660: Is made up of the Canton of Geneva , the Nyon District (in the canton of Vaud), and the Pôle métropolitain du Genevois français    [ fr ] (literally 'Metropolitan hub of the French Genevan territory'), this last one a federation of eight French intercommunal councils in Ain and Haute-Savoie . The Grand Genève GLCT extends over 1,996 km (771 sq mi) and had

4420-511: Is one of the fastest growing in Europe. Its population rose from 906,603 in Jan. 2010 to 1,053,436 in Jan. 2021, which means the metropolitan area registered a population growth rate of +1.39% per year during those 11 years. Growth is higher in the French part of the metropolitan area (+1.80% per year between 2010 and 2021) than in the Swiss part (+1.10% per year between 2010 and 2021), as Geneva attracts many French commuters due to high Swiss salaries and

4550-595: Is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva , and a centre for international diplomacy . Geneva hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. The city of Geneva ( Ville de Genève ) had a population of 203,856 in January 2021 within its municipal territory of 16 km (6 sq mi). The Geneva metropolitan area as officially defined by Eurostat , including suburbs and exurbs in Vaud and

4680-437: Is wasteland. Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 3.4%, housing and buildings made up 46.2% and transportation infrastructure 25.8%, while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 15.7%. Of the agricultural land, 0.3% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is composed of lakes and 2.9% is rivers and streams. The altitude of Geneva is 373.6 m (1,225.7 ft) and corresponds to

4810-559: The Alliance Anti-semitique Universelle in Bucharest. In the period before World War II , when animosity towards Jews was far more commonplace, it was not uncommon for a person, an organization, or a political party to self-identify as an antisemite or antisemitic. The early Zionist pioneer Leon Pinsker , a professional physician, preferred the clinical-sounding term Judeophobia to antisemitism, which he regarded as

4940-571: The Directory annexed Geneva. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars , on 1   June 1814, Geneva was admitted to the Swiss Confederation . In 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of many international organizations. Geneva is located at 46°12' North, 6°09' East, at the south-western end of Lake Geneva , where

5070-598: The Fundamental Rights Agency ), an agency of the European Union , developed a more detailed working definition , which stated: "Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." It also adds that "such manifestations could also target

5200-504: The Green Party (11.4%), the PDC (10.7%), and the solidaritéS (8.8%). In the federal election a total of 36,490 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 44.1%. The city centre of Geneva is located only 1.9 km (1.2 mi) from the border of France . As a result, the urban area and the metropolitan area largely extend across the border on French territory. Due to the small size of

5330-659: The PdA / solidaritéS (10%, +1.3), the PDC (5.4%, -5.3), the pvl (5%, +2.9), and MCR (4.9%, -2.7). In the federal election a total of 34,319 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 39.6%. In the 2015 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 23.8% of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the PLR (17.6%), the UDC (16.3%),

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5460-639: The Rhône flows out. It is surrounded by three mountain chains, each belonging to the Jura : the Jura main range lies north-westward, the Vuache southward, and the Salève south-eastward. The city covers an area of 15.93 km (6.2 sq mi), while the area of the canton is 282 km (108.9 sq mi), including the two small exclaves of Céligny in Vaud . The part of

5590-846: The Spanish Inquisition , and the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492; the Cossack massacres in Ukraine , between 1648 and 1657; various anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russian Empire , between 1821 and 1906; the Dreyfus affair , between 1894 and 1906; the Holocaust by Nazi Germany during World War II ; and various Soviet anti-Jewish policies . Historically, most of the world's violent antisemitic events have taken place in Christian Europe . However, since

5720-615: The Swiss Reformed Church , and 8,698 (4.89%) were Muslim . There were also 3,959 members of an Orthodox church (2.22%), 220 individuals (or about 0.12% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland , 2,422 (1.36%) who belonged to another Christian church, and 2,601 people (1.46%) who were Jewish. There were 707 individuals who were Buddhist, 474 who were Hindu and 423 who belonged to another church. 26,575 respondents (14.93%) did not answer

5850-774: The United States Department of State in 2017, in the Operational Hate Crime Guidance of the UK College of Policing in 2014 and by the UK's Campaign Against Antisemitism . In 2016, the working definition was adopted by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance . IHRA's Working definition of antisemitism is among the most controversial documents related to opposition to antisemitism, and critics argue that it has been used to censor criticism of Israel. In response to

5980-531: The United States Department of State stated that "while there is no universally accepted definition, there is a generally clear understanding of what the term encompasses." For the purposes of its 2005 Report on Global Anti-Semitism, the term was considered to mean "hatred toward Jews—individually and as a group—that can be attributed to the Jewish religion and/or ethnicity." In 2005, the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC, now

6110-610: The " Semites " as a race ]." Psychologist Avner Falk similarly writes: "The German word antisemitisch was first used in 1860 by the Austrian Jewish scholar Moritz Steinschneider (1816–1907) in the phrase antisemitische Vorurteile (antisemitic prejudices). Steinschneider used this phrase to characterise the French philosopher Ernest Renan's false ideas about how ' Semitic races ' were inferior to ' Aryan races ' ". Pseudoscientific theories concerning race , civilization, and "progress" had become quite widespread in Europe in

6240-431: The "Anti-Kanzler-Liga" (Anti-Chancellor League). The league was the first German organization committed specifically to combating the alleged threat to Germany and German culture posed by the Jews and their influence and advocating their forced removal from the country. So far as can be ascertained, the word was first widely printed in 1881, when Marr published Zwanglose Antisemitische Hefte , and Wilhelm Scherer used

6370-483: The "Peace Capital". In 2023, Geneva was ranked as the world's tenth most important financial centre by the Global Financial Centres Index , second in Europe behind London. In 2019, Geneva was ranked among the ten most liveable cities in the world by Mercer , alongside Zürich and Basel, as well as the thirteenth most expensive city in the world. In a UBS ranking of global cities in 2018, Geneva

6500-467: The "origins of anti-Semitic prejudices are rooted in different historical periods." König asserts that differences in the chronology of different antisemitic prejudices and the irregular distribution of such prejudices over different segments of the population create "serious difficulties in the definition of the different kinds of anti-Semitism." These difficulties may contribute to the existence of different taxonomies that have been developed to categorize

6630-450: The "three D" test to distinguish antisemitism from criticism of Israel, giving delegitimization , demonization, and double standards as a litmus test for the former. Bernard Lewis , writing in 2006, defined antisemitism as a special case of prejudice, hatred, or persecution directed against people who are in some way different from the rest. According to Lewis, antisemitism is marked by two distinct features: Jews are judged according to

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6760-500: The Administrative Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of proportional representation with a seven percent threshold. The sessions of the Municipal Council are public. Unlike members of the Administrative Council, members of the Municipal Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Geneva allowed to vote can be elected as

6890-549: The CRFG created in 1973. Finally in 2012 the Projet d’agglomération franco-valdo-genevois was renamed Grand Genève ('Greater Geneva'), and the following year it was transformed into a Local Grouping of Transnational Cooperation  [ fr ] ( GLCT ), a public entity under Swiss law, which now serves as the executive body of the Grand Genève . The Grand Genève GLCT

7020-467: The CRFG defined for the first time a planning territory called agglomération franco-valdo-genevoise ('Franco- Vaud -Genevan urban area'). 2001 saw the creation of a Comité stratégique de développement des transports publics régionaux ('Strategic Committee for the Development of Regional Public Transports', DTPR ), a committee which adopted in 2003 a 'Charter for Public Transports', first step in

7150-465: The Christian foundation on which the modern antisemitic edifice rests and invoke political antisemitism, cultural antisemitism, racism or racial antisemitism, economic antisemitism, and the like." William Nicholls draws a distinction between religious antisemitism and modern antisemitism based on racial or ethnic grounds: "The dividing line was the possibility of effective conversion [...] a Jew ceased to be

7280-536: The French departments of Ain and Haute-Savoie , extends over 2,292 km (885 sq mi) and had a population of 1,053,436 in 2021. Since 2013, the Canton of Geneva, the Nyon District (in the canton of Vaud), and the Pôle métropolitain du Genevois français  [ fr ] ( lit.   ' Metropolitan hub of the French Genevan territory ' , a federation of eight French intercommunal councils), have formed Grand Genève ("Greater Geneva"),

7410-436: The Holocaust. Hannah Arendt criticized this approach, writing that it provoked "the uncomfortable question: 'Why the Jews of all people?' ... with the question begging reply: Eternal hostility." Zionist thinkers and antisemites draw different conclusions from what they perceive as the eternal hatred of Jews; according to antisemites, it proves the inferiority of Jews, while for Zionists it means that Jews need their own state as

7540-516: The Italian newspaper Il Giornale that Europe's failure to agree on a common approach was "a very serious mistake, because it shows our inability, despite all the words uttered in this connection, to come up with at least a lowest common denominator on a basic problem: namely the struggle against discrimination, on behalf of which we in Brussels so often speak out". Frattini continued, "I should imagine that

7670-499: The Jewish race." After 1945 victory of the Allies over Nazi Germany , and particularly after the full extent of the Nazi genocide against the Jews became known, the term antisemitism acquired pejorative connotations. This marked a full circle shift in usage, from an era just decades earlier when "Jew" was used as a pejorative term. Yehuda Bauer wrote in 1984: "There are no anti-Semites in

7800-505: The Jews for an encyclopedia of sins . The Church blamed the Jews for killing Jesus ; Voltaire blamed the Jews for inventing Christianity . In the febrile minds of anti-Semites, Jews were usurers and well-poisoners and spreaders of disease . Jews were the creators of both communism and capitalism ; they were clannish but also cosmopolitan ; cowardly and warmongering; self-righteous moralists and defilers of culture. Ideologues and demagogues of many permutations have understood

7930-602: The Jews to be a singularly malevolent force standing between the world and its perfection. Louis Harap , writing in the 1980s, separated "economic antisemitism" and merges "political" and "nationalistic" antisemitism into "ideological antisemitism". Harap also adds a category of "social antisemitism". Religious antisemitism , also known as anti-Judaism, is antipathy towards Jews because of their perceived religious beliefs. In theory, antisemitism and attacks against individual Jews would stop if Jews stopped practicing Judaism or changed their public faith, especially by conversion to

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8060-671: The Late Roman Empire , and acquired its first bishop in the 5th century, having been connected to the Bishopric of Vienne in the 4th. In the Middle Ages , Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, when it was granted a charter giving it a high degree of self-governance. Around this time, the House of Savoy came to at least nominally dominate

8190-412: The Municipal Council are carried out by the Administrative Council. Elections for the Administrative Council are held every five years. The current term of office is from 1   June 2020 to 31   May 2025. The delegates take office due to a winner-takes-all election ( French : scrutin majoritaire , Swiss Standard German : Majorzwahl or Majorz ). The mayor and vice change each year, while

8320-604: The UN is supposed to do best: uniting to combat injustice in the world, said the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva. Her colleague Jeremy Paxman described the walkout as a "stunt", arguing that people should have the right to criticise Zionism . President Ahmadinejad, the only major leader to attend the conference, said Jewish migrants from Europe and the United States had been sent to the Middle East after World War II "in order to establish

8450-400: The actions of an individual Jewish person or group; denying the Holocaust or accusing Jews or Israel of exaggerating it; and accusing Jews of dual loyalty or a greater allegiance to Israel than their own country. It also lists ways in which attacking Israel could be antisemitic, and states that denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g. by claiming that the existence of

8580-506: The altitude of the largest of the Pierres du Niton , two large rocks emerging from the lake which date from the last ice age . This rock was chosen by General Guillaume Henri Dufour as the reference point for surveying in Switzerland. The second main river of Geneva is the Arve , which flows into the Rhône just west of the city centre. Mont Blanc can be seen from Geneva and is an hour's drive from

8710-448: The bipolarity that is at the heart of the problem of antisemitism". The Associated Press and its accompanying AP Stylebook adopted the unhyphenated spelling in 2021. Style guides for other news organizations such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal later adopted this spelling as well. It has also been adopted by many Holocaust museums , such as the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem . Though

8840-400: The border in France, dominates the southerly view from the city centre, and Mont Blanc , the highest of the Alpine range, is visible from most of the city, towering high above Chamonix , which, along with Morzine, Le Grand Bornand, La Clusaz, and resorts of the Grand Massif such as Samoens, Morillon, and Flaine, are the closest French skiing destinations to Geneva. During the years 2000–2009,

8970-440: The city. The climate of Geneva is a temperate climate , more specifically an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ). Winters are cool, usually with light frosts at night and thawing conditions during the day. Summers are relatively warm. Precipitation is adequate and is relatively well-distributed throughout the year, although autumn is slightly wetter than other seasons. Ice storms near Lac Léman are normal in

9100-445: The city. In the 15th century, an oligarchic republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council . In the first half of the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation reached the city, causing religious strife, during which Savoy rule was thrown off and Geneva allied itself with the Swiss Confederacy . In 1541, with Protestantism on the rise, John Calvin , the Protestant Reformer and proponent of Calvinism , became

9230-408: The commemoration. Geneva Geneva ( / dʒ ə ˈ n iː v ə / jə- NEE -və ; Arpitan : [dzəˈnɛva] ; French: Genève [ʒənɛv] ) is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich ) and the most populous in the French-speaking Romandy . Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva , it

9360-462: The concept of anti-Judaism , which is distinct from antisemitism itself. There are various ways in which antisemitism is manifested, ranging in the level of severity of Jewish persecution . On the more subtle end, it consists of expressions of hatred or discrimination against individual Jews and may or may not be accompanied by violence. On the most extreme end, it consists of pogroms or genocide , which may or may not be state-sponsored. Although

9490-439: The conference over a draft resolution that, in their opinion, singled out Israel for criticism and likened Zionism to racism. The European Union also refused to accept wording by Arab states criticizing Israel for "racist practices." Also in the conference, African countries, led by Nigeria and Zimbabwe, and African-American NGOs wanted individual apologies from each of the countries responsible for slavery , recognition of it as

9620-423: The conference – as we have decided to do, and as the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and The Netherlands have decided to do." (Mark Mardell, BBC News) New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully said he was not satisfied that the wording of the review would prevent the conference from "descending into the same kind of rancorous and unproductive debate that took place in 2001," and he reported that he

9750-475: The day, about 40 delegates walked out during Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech after he described Israel as a "racist government" and attacked the creation of the state of Israel. France, which had warned of a walkout, described it as "hate speech", the BBC reported. The walkout was a public relations disaster for the United Nations, which had hoped the conference would be a shining example of what

9880-419: The development of a metropolitan, cross-border commuter rail network (see Léman Express ). In 2004, a public transnational body called Projet d’agglomération franco-valdo-genevois ('Franco-Vaud-Genevan urban area project') was created to serve as the main body of metropolitan cooperation for the planning territory defined in 1997, with more local French councils taking part in this new public body than in

10010-519: The downfall of Judaism, a phenomenon that negates everything purely human and noble." This use of Semitismus was followed by a coining of " Antisemitismus " which was used to indicate opposition to the Jews as a people and opposition to the Jewish spirit, which Marr interpreted as infiltrating German culture. The pamphlet became very popular, and in the same year Marr founded the Antisemiten-Liga (League of Antisemites), apparently named to follow

10140-539: The early 20th century, there has been a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across the Arab world , largely due to the surge in Arab antisemitic conspiracy theories , which have been cultivated to an extent under the aegis of European antisemitic conspiracy theories . In recent times, the idea that there is a variation of antisemitism known as " new antisemitism " has emerged on several occasions. According to this view, since Israel

10270-513: The executive government of the city of Geneva and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councilors ( Conseiller administratif / Conseillère administrative ), each presiding over a department. The president of the executive department acts as mayor ( la maire/le maire ). In the governmental year 2021–2022, the Administrative Council is presided over by Madame la maire de Genève Frédérique Perler . Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by

10400-437: The financial canards: Abraham Foxman describes six facets of the financial canards: Gerald Krefetz summarizes the myth as "[Jews] control the banks, the money supply, the economy, and businesses—of the community, of the country, of the world". Krefetz gives, as illustrations, many slurs and proverbs (in several different languages) which suggest that Jews are stingy, or greedy, or miserly, or aggressive bargainers. During

10530-514: The five seats and, for the first time in history, a female majority in the election held on 15   March / 5   April 2020. Except for the mayor, all other councillors have been elected for the first time. Le Conseil municipal of Geneva for the mandate period of 2020–2025 The Municipal Council ( French : Conseil municipal ) holds legislative power . It is made up of 80 members, with elections held every five years. The Municipal Council makes regulations and by-laws that are executed by

10660-509: The forms of antisemitism. The forms identified are substantially the same; it is primarily the number of forms and their definitions that differ. Bernard Lazare , writing in the 1890s, identified three forms of antisemitism: Christian antisemitism , economic antisemitism, and ethnologic antisemitism. William Brustein names four categories: religious, racial, economic, and political. The Roman Catholic historian Edward Flannery distinguished four varieties of antisemitism: Europe has blamed

10790-420: The general definition of antisemitism is hostility or prejudice against Jews, and, according to Olaf Blaschke , has become an "umbrella term for negative stereotypes about Jews", a number of authorities have developed more formal definitions. Writing in 1987, Holocaust scholar and City University of New York professor Helen Fein defined it as "a persisting latent structure of hostile beliefs towards Jews as

10920-585: The heads of the other departments are assigned by the collegiate. The executive body holds its meetings in the Palais Eynard, near the Parc des Bastions . As of 2020, Geneva's Administrative Council is made up of two representatives each of the Social Democratic Party (PS) and the Green Party (PES), and one member of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC). This gives the left-wing parties four out of

11050-591: The highest one, which the Jews will not have usurped". This followed his 1862 book Die Judenspiegel ( A Mirror to the Jews ) in which he argued that "Judaism must cease to exist if humanity is to commence", demanding both that Judaism be dissolved as a "religious-denominational sect" but also subject to criticism "as a race, a civil and social entity". In the introductions to the first through fourth editions of Der Judenspiegel, Marr denied that he intended to preach Jew-hatred, but instead to help "the Jews reach their full human potential" which could happen only "through

11180-459: The important conclusion, that we must give up contending against these hostile impulses, just as we give up contending against every other inherited predisposition. In the aftermath of the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938, German propaganda minister Goebbels announced: "The German people is anti-Semitic. It has no desire to have its rights restricted or to be provoked in the future by parasites of

11310-404: The lake that is attached to Geneva has an area of 38 km (14.7 sq mi) and is sometimes referred to as petit lac ('small lake'). The canton has only a 4.5 km-long (2.8 mi) border with the rest of Switzerland. Of 107.5 km (66.8 mi) of the border, 103 are shared with France, the department of Ain to the north and west and the department of Haute-Savoie to

11440-653: The late 19th century. For example, Karl Lueger , the popular mayor of fin de siècle Vienna , skillfully exploited antisemitism as a way of channeling public discontent to his political advantage. In its 1910 obituary of Lueger, The New York Times notes that Lueger was "Chairman of the Christian Social Union of the Parliament and of the Anti-Semitic Union of the Diet of Lower Austria. In 1895, A. C. Cuza organized

11570-406: The left parties PST-POP ( Parti Suisse du Travail – Parti Ouvrier et Populaire ) and solidaritéS ), 6 Swiss People's Party (UDC). In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the Green Party which received 26% (+14.6) of the vote. The next seven most popular parties were the PS (17.9%, -5.9), PLR (15.1%, -2.4), the UDC (12.6%, -3.7),

11700-891: The mean yearly temperature was 11 °C and the mean number of sunshine-hours per year was 2003. The highest temperature recorded in Genève–Cointrin was 39.7 °C (103.5 °F) in July 2015, and the lowest temperature recorded was −20.0 °C (−4.0 °F) in February 1956. The city is divided into eight quartiers , or districts, sometimes composed of several neighbourhoods. On the left bank are: (1) Jonction, (2) Centre, Plainpalais , and Acacias; (3) Eaux-Vives; and (4) Champel . The right bank includes: (1) Saint-Jean and Charmilles; (2) Servette and Petit-Saconnex; (3) Grottes and Saint-Gervais; and (4) Paquis and Nations. The Administrative Council ( French : Conseil administratif ) constitutes

11830-649: The most widely read Catholic writers in France during the Dreyfus Affair, likewise combined religious and racial antisemitism. Drumont founded the Antisemitic League of France . The underlying premise of economic antisemitism is that Jews perform harmful economic activities or that economic activities become harmful when they are performed by Jews. Linking Jews and money underpins the most damaging and lasting antisemitic canards . Antisemites claim that Jews control

11960-496: The municipality of Geneva (16 km (6 sq mi)) and extension of the urban area over an international border, official bodies of transnational cooperation were developed as early as the 1970s to manage the cross-border Greater Geneva area at a metropolitan level. In 1973, a Franco-Swiss agreement created the Comité régional franco-genevois ('Franco-Genevan Regional Committee', CRFG ). In 1997 an 'Urban planning charter' of

12090-498: The municipality, and an average of 1.9 persons per household. There were 44,373 households that consist of only one person and 2,549 households with five or more people. Out of a total of 89,269 households that answered this question, 49.7% were households made up of just one person and there were 471 adults who lived with their parents. Of the rest of the households, there are 17,429 married couples without children, 16,607 married couples with children. There were 5,499 single parents with

12220-613: The new term antisemitism becomes almost unavoidable, even before explicitly racist doctrines appear." Some Christians such as the Catholic priest Ernest Jouin , who published the first French translation of the Protocols , combined religious and racial antisemitism, as in his statement that "From the triple viewpoint of race, of nationality, and of religion, the Jew has become the enemy of humanity." The virulent antisemitism of Édouard Drumont , one of

12350-508: The nineteenth century, Jews were described as "scurrilous, stupid, and tight-fisted", but after the Jewish Emancipation and the rise of Jews to the middle- or upper-class in Europe were portrayed as "clever, devious, and manipulative financiers out to dominate [world finances]". Léon Poliakov asserts that economic antisemitism is not a distinct form of antisemitism, but merely a manifestation of theologic antisemitism (because, without

12480-590: The official or right religion. However, in some cases, discrimination continues after conversion, as in the case of Marranos (Christianized Jews in Spain and Portugal) in the late 15th century and 16th century, who were suspected of secretly practising Judaism or Jewish customs. Although the origins of antisemitism are rooted in the Judeo-Christian conflict, other forms of antisemitism have developed in modern times. Frederick Schweitzer asserts that "most scholars ignore

12610-475: The outset the term "anti-Semitism" bore special racial connotations and meant specifically prejudice against Jews . The term has been described as confusing, for in modern usage 'Semitic' designates a language group, not a race. In this sense, the term is a misnomer, since there are many speakers of Semitic languages (e.g., Arabs , Ethiopians , and Arameans ) who are not the objects of antisemitic prejudices, while there are many Jews who do not speak Hebrew ,

12740-615: The perceived lack of clarity in the IHRA definition, two new definitions of antisemitism were published in 2021, the Nexus Document in February 2021 and the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism in March 2021. In 1879, Wilhelm Marr founded the Antisemiten-Liga (Anti-Semitic League). Identification with antisemitism and as an antisemite was politically advantageous in Europe during

12870-433: The population has changed at a rate of 7.2%; a rate of 3.4% due to migration and at a rate of 3.4% due to births and deaths. As of 2008 , the gender distribution of the population was 47.8% male and 52.2% female. The population was made up of 46,284 Swiss men (24.2% of the population) and 45,127 (23.6%) non-Swiss men. There were 56,091 Swiss women (29.3%) and 43,735 (22.9%) non-Swiss women. As of 2000 approximately 24.3% of

13000-401: The population of Swiss citizens increased by 33, while the foreign population increased by 619. There were 465 Swiss men and 498 Swiss women who emigrated from Switzerland. At the same time, there were 2933 non-Swiss men and 2662 non-Swiss women who immigrated from another country to Switzerland. The total Swiss population change in 2008 (from all sources, including moves across municipal borders)

13130-511: The population of the municipality were born in Geneva and lived there in 2000 – 43,296. A further 11,757 or 6.6% who were born in the same canton, while 27,359 or 15.4% were born elsewhere in Switzerland, and 77,893 or 43.8% were born outside of Switzerland. In 2008 , there were 1,147 live births to Swiss citizens and 893 births to non-Swiss citizens, and in the same time span there were 1,114 deaths of Swiss citizens and 274 non-Swiss citizen deaths. Ignoring immigration and emigration,

13260-591: The project to define antisemitism, arguing that it essentializes Jewish history as one of persecution and discrimination. Engel argues that the term "antisemitism" is not useful in historical analysis because it implies that there are links between anti-Jewish prejudices expressed in different contexts, without evidence of such a connection. Antisemitism manifests itself in a variety of ways. René König mentions social antisemitism, economic antisemitism, religious antisemitism, and political antisemitism as examples. König points out that these different forms demonstrate that

13390-469: The question. According to 2012 statistics by Swiss Bundesamt für Statistik 49.2% of the population were Christian , (34.2% Catholic , 8.8% Swiss Reformed (organized in the Protestant Church of Geneva ) and 6.2% other Christians, mostly other Protestants ), 38% of Genevans were non-religious , 6.1% were Muslim and 1.6% were Jews. Geneva has historically been considered a Protestant city and

13520-551: The room immediately." Germany had decided to stay away from the meeting amid western concerns that the event may take on anti-Semitic overtones, a senior official confirmed in Berlin Thursday. In his opening address, Secretary-General of UN Ban Ki-moon said, "Some nations who by rights should be helping us to forge a path to a better future are not here. Outside these halls, interest groups of many political and ideological stripes shout against one another in acrimony." Later in

13650-492: The room." British ambassador Peter Gooderham , also among those who left, said Ahmadinejad's comments were "offensive and inflammatory". "Such outrageous anti-Semitic remarks should have no place in a UN anti-racism forum", he announced to gathered reporters. (BBC News) A webcast of Ahmadinejad's speech was made available by the United Nations, and the Foreign Policy Journal , an online news publisher, rushed out

13780-498: The second half of the 19th century, especially as Prussian nationalistic historian Heinrich von Treitschke did much to promote this form of racism. He coined the phrase "the Jews are our misfortune" which would later be widely used by Nazis . According to Falk, Treitschke uses the term "Semitic" almost synonymously with "Jewish", in contrast to Renan's use of it to refer to a whole range of peoples, based generally on linguistic criteria. According to philologist Jonathan M. Hess ,

13910-422: The single family homes, 197 were built before 1919, while 20 were built between 1990 and 2000. The greatest number of single family homes (277) were built between 1919 and 1945. In 2000 , there were 101,794 apartments in the municipality. The most common apartment size was 3 rooms of which there were 27,084. There were 21,889 single room apartments and 11,166 apartments with five or more rooms. Of these apartments,

14040-412: The south and east. Of the land in the city, 0.24 km (0.093 sq mi), or 1.5%, is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.5 km (0.19 sq mi), or 3.1%, is forested. The rest of the land, 14.63 km (5.65 sq mi), or 91.8%, is built up (buildings or roads), 0.49 km (0.19 sq mi), or 3.1%, is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km (4.9 acres), or 0.1%,

14170-415: The spiritual leader of the city and established the Republic of Geneva . By the 18th century, Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city as its own. France tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk, which inspired the failed Geneva Revolution of 1782 , an attempt to win representation in the government for men of modest means. In 1798, revolutionary France under

14300-421: The state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity," but that "criticism of Israel similar to that leveled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic." It provided contemporary examples of ways in which antisemitism may manifest itself, including promoting the harming of Jews in the name of an ideology or religion; promoting negative stereotypes of Jews; holding Jews collectively responsible for

14430-487: The term Antisemiten in the January issue of Neue Freie Presse . The Jewish Encyclopedia reports, "In February 1881, a correspondent of the Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums speaks of 'Anti-Semitism' as a designation which recently came into use ("Allg. Zeit. d. Jud." 1881, p. 138). On 19 July 1882, the editor says, 'This quite recent Anti-Semitism is hardly three years old. ' " The word "antisemitism"

14560-605: The term "antisemitism" did not come into common usage until the 19th century, it is also applied to previous and later anti-Jewish incidents. Notable instances of antisemitic persecution include the Rhineland massacres in 1096; the Edict of Expulsion in 1290; the European persecution of Jews during the Black Death , between 1348 and 1351; the massacre of Spanish Jews in 1391, the crackdown of

14690-528: The term was originally used by its authors to "stress the radical difference between their own 'antisemitism' and earlier forms of antagonism toward Jews and Judaism." In 1879, German journalist Wilhelm Marr published a pamphlet, Der Sieg des Judenthums über das Germanenthum. Vom nicht confessionellen Standpunkt aus betrachtet ( The Victory of the Jewish Spirit over the Germanic Spirit. Observed from

14820-735: The unhyphenated spelling, in order to "[dispel] the notion that there is an entity 'Semitism' which 'anti-Semitism' opposes." Others endorsing an unhyphenated term for the same reason include the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance , historian Deborah Lipstadt , Padraic O'Hare, professor of Religious and Theological Studies and Director of the Center for the Study of Jewish-Christian-Muslim Relations at Merrimack College ; and historians Yehuda Bauer and James Carroll . According to Carroll, who first cites O'Hare and Bauer on "the existence of something called 'Semitism ' ", "the hyphenated word thus reflects

14950-644: The winter: Geneva can be affected by the Bise , a north-easterly wind. This can lead to severe icing in winter. In summer, many people swim in the lake and patronise public beaches such as Genève Plage and the Bains des Pâquis . The city, in certain years, receives snow during colder months. The nearby mountains are subject to substantial snowfall and are suitable for skiing. Many world-renowned ski resorts such as Verbier and Crans-Montana are less than three hours away by car. Mont Salève (1,379 m (4,524 ft)), just across

15080-500: The world finances, a theory promoted in the fraudulent The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and later repeated by Henry Ford and his The Dearborn Independent . In the modern era, such myths continue to be spread in books such as The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews published by the Nation of Islam and on the internet. Derek Penslar writes that there are two components to

15210-581: The world ... Nobody says, 'I am anti-Semitic.' You cannot, after Hitler. The word has gone out of fashion." The study of antisemitism has become politically controversial because of differing interpretations of the Holocaust and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. There are two competing views of antisemitism, eternalism, and contextualism. The eternalist view sees antisemitism as separate from other forms of racism and prejudice and an exceptionalist, transhistorical force teleologically culminating in

15340-464: Was 0.25%. In June 2011, the average price of an apartment in and around Geneva was 13,681 CHF per square metre (11 sq ft). The average can be as high as 17,589 Swiss francs (CHF) per square metre (11 sq ft) for a luxury apartment and as low as 9,847 Swiss francs (CHF) for an older or basic apartment. For houses in and around Geneva, the average price was 11,595 Swiss francs (CHF) per square metre (11 sq ft) (June 2011), with

15470-438: Was also a declaration and program of action which resulted from the conference which condemned racial superiority , racism, and racial discrimination, and called for educational resources to promote "mutual understanding between all human beings and demonstrate...the...basis of ethnic and racial equality", among other statements. The 1983 World Conference Against Racism was also held in Geneva , Switzerland. The 2001 conference

15600-566: Was an increase of 135 and the non-Swiss population increased by 3181 people. This represents a population growth rate of 1.8%. As of 2000 , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) made up 18.2% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) made up 65.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16%. As of 2000 , there were 78,666 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 74,205 married individuals, 10,006 widows or widowers and 15,087 individuals who are divorced. As of 2000 , there were 86,231 private households in

15730-472: Was borrowed into English from German in 1881. Oxford English Dictionary editor James Murray wrote that it was not included in the first edition because "Anti-Semite and its family were then probably very new in English use, and not thought likely to be more than passing nonce-words... Would that anti-Semitism had had no more than a fleeting interest!" The related term " philosemitism " was used by 1881. From

15860-636: Was coined by German orientalist August Ludwig von Schlözer in 1781 to designate the Semitic group of languages — Aramaic , Arabic , Hebrew and others—allegedly spoken by the descendants of Biblical figure Sem , son of Noah . The origin of "antisemitic" terminologies is found in the responses of orientalist Moritz Steinschneider to the views of orientalist Ernest Renan . Historian Alex Bein writes: "The compound anti-Semitism appears to have been used first by Steinschneider, who challenged Renan on account of his 'anti-Semitic prejudices' [i.e., his derogation of

15990-571: Was concerned that it could be used by Muslim countries to criticize Israel and to limit free speech when it comes to criticizing their religion. (reported by the Associated Press on 20 April) On the opening day of the conference, France said that Europeans would walk out if Ahmadinejad made any anti-Semitic remarks. "We will have to be very clear. We will not tolerate any slips," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told France Info. "If he utters racist or anti-Semitic accusations, we will leave

16120-413: Was focused specifically on Israeli treatment of Palestinians, treating violations of human rights and genocide in other parts of the world secondarily. The 2001 meeting was marked by clashes over the Middle East and the legacy of slavery, and coincided with attacks on Israel and anti-Israel demonstrations at a parallel conference of non-governmental organizations. The U.S. and Israel withdrew midway through

16250-523: Was held in Durban , South Africa, under UN auspices, from 31 August until 8 September 2001. Former Irish president Mary Robinson , then the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, presided as secretary-general. Entitled "World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance", the conference was discussing unfair treatment of one group against another. Significant time

16380-677: Was held in Geneva , Switzerland. Canada, Israel, the United States of America, New Zealand, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and, after some initial skepticism, Australia announced they would not participate in the conference. Mark Mardell of the BBC news reported: On the Monday the Conference was to begin, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini (who was until last year the European Commissioner for security and justice) had told

16510-610: Was known as pagus major Genevensis or Comitatus Genevensis (also Gebennensis ). After 1400 it became the Genevois province of Savoy (albeit not extending to the city proper, until the reformation of the seat of the Bishop of Geneva ). Geneva was an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Helvetii tribe, when the Roman Republic took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under

16640-475: Was known as the Protestant Rome due to it being the base of John Calvin , William Farel , Theodore Beza and other Protestant reformers . Over the past century, substantial immigration from France and other predominantly Catholic countries, as well as general secularization, has changed its religious landscape. As a result, three times as many Roman Catholics as Protestants lived in the city in 2000, while

16770-639: Was ranked first for gross earnings , second most expensive, and fourth in purchasing power . The city was mentioned in Latin texts, by Caesar , with the spelling Genava , probably from the Celtic * genawa- from the stem * genu- ("mouth"), in the sense of an estuary , an etymology shared with the Italian port city of Genoa (in Italian Genova ). The medieval county of Geneva in Middle Latin

16900-410: Was the second most common (7,853 or 4.4%), followed by Spanish (7,462 or 4.2%), Italian (7,320 or 4.1%), and German (7,050 or 4.0%); 113 spoke Romansh , an official language in Switzerland. In the city of Geneva, as of 2013 , 48% of the population are resident foreign nationals. For a list of the largest groups of foreign residents see the cantonal overview . Over the last 10 years (1999–2009),

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