Rabbi Shot Dead in Switzerland

A 70-year-old Israeli rabbi was shot to death on a street in Switzerland’s financial capital, police said Friday.

The investigation had yet to determine a motive for the slaying, which occurred shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday, police said. They declined to identify the victim beyond saying that he was the head of a religious school in Israel.

The victim, dressed in black, “was clearly recognizable as an Orthodox Jew,” said police spokesman Werner Benz. He added that he didn’t want to speculate on whether the attack had anti-Semitic overtones.

The Hebrew Congregation of Zurich issued a statement saying it was shaken by the attack.

Benz said a man fired several shots at the victim and fled. Police were looking for a young man with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail.

The victim was on a private visit to Switzerland and was staying with friends in the area where he was attacked, Benz said.

Police are considering robbery among possible motives, Benz said, but he noted that the victim still had a large sum of money and other valuables with him.