Justice Neuchâtel politician retracts accusation of anti-Semitism
General Councillor Brigitte Leitenberg admits that the municipal council of La Chaux-de-Fonds NE is not anti-Semitic. The executive and the GLP politician reached an agreement in a mediation session before the police court on Wednesday.
12.11.2025, 17:35
SDA
The defendant sincerely apologized for the statements she posted on Facebook on 21 February and regrets the consequences her comments had for the plaintiffs. According to the agreement, she acknowledges that her comments were "offensive and exaggerated".
The General Councillor and GLP MP accused the municipal council of having supported Hamas in the same way that the collaborators supported the Nazis during the Second World War. The five municipal councillors of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Jean-Daniel Jeanneret, Théo Bregnard, Théo Huguenin-Elie, Thierry Brechbühler and Ilinka Guyot, had filed a complaint for defamation.
The public prosecutor's office had requested 30 daily sentences of 120 francs each with a suspended sentence of two years.
Incident after vote on popular motion
The day before Leitenberg's comments, a popular motion by the Action Palestine collective was passed by 23 votes to 16. The debates in the municipal council led to a dispute between the left and the right. According to the motion, the municipal council of La Chaux-de-Fonds must draw up a report on Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of the UN Palestine Relief and Works Agency, and determine whether he should be made an honorary citizen of the watchmaking metropolis.
When the application was accepted, Leitenberg felt personally discriminated against and could empathize with how the Jews must have felt during the Second World War, she explained. The following day, she posted on Facebook.
"We had to justify ourselves for not being anti-Semitic. There were unfortunate generalizations made about us. We received 466 angry letters. One colleague received an anonymous call from Israel via the local council's secret hotline," said Huguenin-Elie, explaining the consequences of the post.
