While Sudarsky certainly does a fine job of summarizing how the Swiss vote has half-emptied the glass, it is also true that many Jewish groups around the world are responding to the vote with powerful statements calling for Jewish- Muslim solidarity in the face of hatred. Here are two samples, the first from the Jerusalem Post Rabbis for Minarets

Swiss voters this week approved by a strong majority a referendum outlawing the construction of minarets. The measure, pushed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP), was supported by 57 percent of the population. However, Jewish organizations, realizing that a crackdown on Islam could have repercussions for Jews as well, have come to the defense of Muslim worshipers, arguing that the Swiss’s move was unjustifiable.

And the UK Jewish group, CST, has a great editorial: Don’t Be Fooled by Islamophobia

A small Islamophobic group, called Stop Islamisation Of Europe (SIOE), has called for 1,000 Jews to attend its forthcoming demonstration at Harrow mosque; and for each Jew to bring an Israeli flag. A demonstration against Harrow mosque under the banner “Stop the Islamisation of Europe”, is as stupid and offensive as a demonstration against Harrow synagogue, under the banner “Stop the Zionisation of Europe”.
This has nothing to do with the necessary and legitimate work to counter extremism and antisemitism wherever and whenever it genuinely occurs. CST has raised awareness of the activities of extreme Islamist groups in the UK for many years. But to demonise an entire community, every Muslim and every mosque, in the way that SIOE does, shows exactly the kind of bigotry from which Jews have suffered so often in our history. For SIOE to appeal to Jews to support them shows a complete ignorance of the Jewish experience of being on the receiving end of exactly this type of politics.

So if the Swiss have allowed Xenophobes to become more public, they’ve also given their opponents a wakeup call to stand up and be counted. And so the glass – if not half-full – is at least not empty.

Peter, eternally optimistic