Antisemitism in Sweden
Encyclopedia
Sweden
has a relatively small Jewish community of around 20,000. Jews have been permitted to immigrate to Sweden
since the late 18th century, at first only to Stockholm
, Göteborg and Norrköping
, but this restriction was removed in 1854. In 1870 Jews received full citizens' rights and the first Jewish members of parliament (riksdagen), Aron Philipson and Moritz Rubenson, were elected in 1873. However Swedish non-Protestants, most of which were Catholics and Jews, were still not allowed to teach the subject of Christianity in public schools or to be government ministers (statsråd); these restrictions were removed in 1951. Yiddish has legal status as one of the country's official minority languages
.
After Germany
and Austria
, Sweden has the highest rate of antisemitic incidents in Europe. Though the Netherlands
reports a higher rate of antisemitism in some years. A government study in 2006 estimated that 15% of Swedes agree with the statement: "The Jews have too much influence in the world today".
Five percent of the entire adult population, and 39% of the Muslim population, harbor strong and consistent antisemitic views. Former Prime Minister Göran Persson
described these results as "surprising and terrifying". However, the Rabbi of Stockholm's Orthodox Jewish community, Meir Horden claimed that "It's not true to say that the Swedes are anti-Semitic. Some of them are hostile to Israel because they support the weak side, which they perceive the Palestinians to be."
In 2010, Antisemitism among Muslims in Malmö
received media attention after a controversial interview with the city's major, Ilmar Reepalu
. In March the same year, Fredrik Sieradzk of the Jewish community of Malmö
told Die Presse, an Austrian Internet publication, that Jews are being "harassed and physically attacked" by "people from the Middle East," although he added that only a small number of Malmo's 40,000 Muslims "exhibit hatred of Jews."
Sieradzk also stated that approximately 30 Jewish families have emigrated from Malmo to Israel in the past year, specifically to escape from harassment estimating that the already small Jewish population is shrinking by 5% a year. “Malmo is a place to move away from, right now many Jews in Malmö are really concerned about the situation and don’t believe they have a future here” he said, citing anti-Semitism as the primary reason.
The Swedish newspaper Skånska Dagbladet reported that attacks on Jews in Malmo totaled 79 in 2009, about twice as many as the previous year, according to police statistics. In December 2010, the Jewish human rights
organization Simon Wiesenthal Center
issued a travel advisory concerning Sweden
, advising Jews to express "extreme caution" when visiting the southern parts of the country due to an increase in verbal and physical harassment of Jewish citizens in the city of Malmö
.
, it helped facilitate the rescue of relatively many Jews from nearby countries: in 1942, 900 Norwegian Jews were given asylum from Nazi persecution
in their home country, and, most importantly of all, almost the entire Danish Jewish
community, some 8,000 people, was transported to Sweden in October 1943 (see Rescue of the Danish Jews
).
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg
also saved thousands of Hungarian Jews
in Budapest by providing them with "protective passports". He also rented thirty-two buildings, funded by United states, and declared them Swedish diplomatic facilities, thus bringing them under protection of diplomatic immunity.
and Austria
, Sweden has the highest rate of antisemitic incidents in Europe. Though the Netherlands
reports a higher rate of antisemitism in some years. A government study in 2006 estimated that 15% of Swedes agree with the statement: "The Jews have too much influence in the world today".
Five percent of the entire adult population, and 39% of the Muslim population, harbor strong and consistent antisemitic views. Former Prime Minister Göran Persson
described these results as "surprising and terrifying". However, the Rabbi of Stockholm's Orthodox Jewish community, Meir Horden claimed that "It's not true to say that the Swedes are anti-Semitic. Some of them are hostile to Israel because they support the weak side, which they perceive the Palestinians to be."
told Die Presse, an Austrian Internet publication, that Jews are being "harassed and physically attacked" by "people from the Middle East," although he added that only a small number of Malmo's 40,000 Muslims "exhibit hatred of Jews." Leo Gelitman, an Auschwitz survivor that has dedicated her life to teach about the Holocaust, stated with that she is experiencing being labeled as a liar when teaching about the Holocaust at Muslim
majority schools.
Sieradzk also stated that approximately 30 Jewish families have emigrated from Malmo to Israel in the past year, specifically to escape from harassment estimating that the already small Jewish population is shrinking by 5% a year. “Malmo is a place to move away from, right now many Jews in Malmö are really concerned about the situation and don’t believe they have a future here” he said, citing anti-Semitism as the primary reason.
In 2010, The Forward reported on the current state of Jews and the level of Anti-semitism in Sweden. Henrik Bachner, a writer and professor of history at the University of Lund, claimed that members of the Swedish Parliament have attended anti-Israel rallies where the Israeli flag was burned while the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah were waved, and the rhetoric was often anti-Semitic—not just anti-Israel. But such public rhetoric is not branded hateful and denounced. Charles Small, director of the Yale University Initiative for the Study of Anti-Semitism, stated that “Sweden is a microcosm of contemporary anti-Semitism. It’s a form of acquiescence to radical Islam, which is diametrically opposed to everything Sweden stands for.” Per Gudmundson, chief editorial writer for Svenska Dagbladet, has sharply criticized politicians who him claims offer “weak excuses” for Muslims accused of anti-Semitic crimes. “Politicians say these kids are poor and oppressed, and we have made them hate. They are, in effect, saying the behavior of these kids is in some way our fault.”
As of the 2010, the Jewish community of Malmö consisted of about 700 individuals, most of who are descendants of refugees from Poland
and Germany
during World War II. The Swedish newspaper Skånska Dagbladet reported that attacks on Jews in Malmo totaled 79 in 2009, about twice as many as the previous year, according to police statistics. Judith Popinski, and 86-year-old Holocaust survivor, told The Daily Telegraph
that she is no longer invited to schools that have a large Muslim presence to tell her story of surviving the Holocaust. Popinski, who found refuge in Malmo in 1945, stated that, until recently, she told her story in Malmo schools as part of their Holocaust studies program , but that now, many schools no longer ask Holocaust survivors to tell their stories, because Muslim students treat them with such disrespect, either ignoring the speakers or walking out of the class. She further stated that "Malmo reminds me of the anti-Semitism I felt as a child in Poland before the war. “I am not safe as a Jew in Sweden anymore.”
In December 2010, the Jewish human rights
organization Simon Wiesenthal Center
issued a travel advisory concerning Sweden
, advising Jews to express "extreme caution" when visiting the southern parts of the country due to an increase in verbal and physical harassment of Jewish citizens in the city of Malmö
.
between Israel
and Sweden
during the Davis Cup
. Due to "safety reasons", no fans were allowed to enter the stadium and watch the tennis game. However, numerous Swedish politicians had called for the match to be cancelled due to their pro-Palestinian views and the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead, with this idea being discarded because the Swedish side would have had an automatic forfeit loss, and therefore the team's elimination, from the Cup tournament. A plan to move the match from Malmö to Stockholm failed due to logistical issues and a lack of time. In the end, Israel defeated and eliminated the Swedish team by a 3–2 score. The match drew more than 6000 Pro-Palestine protesters, making it one of the largest demonstrations in Swedish history
. More than 100 protesters were detained as several hundred Arab nationalists
and Left-wing militants clashed with more than 1000 policemen that were guarding the stadium. Malmö was banned from hosting any further Davis Cup matches in the aftermath of the riots. The city was also fined $25,000 (lowered to $5,000 on appeal) and forced to pay an additional $15,000 to recoup revenues lost when fans were barred from the match.
(a Social Democrat), for denying the rise of Antisemitism in Malmö. .
When confronted with the issue during an interview in 2010 with Andreas Lovén, a journalist in Skånska Dagbladet, Reepalu states: “We accept neither Zionism nor anti-Semitism. They are extremes that put themselves above other groups, and believe they have a lower value." He also criticized the Malmo's Jewish community for its support for Israel, stating that “I would wish for the Jewish community to denounce Israeli violations against the civilian population in Gaza. Instead it decides to hold a [pro-Israeli] demonstration in the Grand Square [of Malmö], which could send the wrong signals.” Jewish leaders responded that the demonstration Reepalu was referring to was "pro-peace rally" arranged by the Jewish Community in Malmö "which came under attack from members of a violent counter demonstration" and accused Reepalu of "suggesting that the violence directed towards us is our own fault simply because we didn’t speak out against Israel."
Reepalu has denied that, apart from at the infamous demonstration, there had been any violent attacks on Jews in the city citing police figures. Although the same police figures show that hate crimes against Jews have doubled over the last year. In January,when asked to explain why Jewish religious services often require security guards and even police protection, Reepalu claimed that the violence directed toward Malmö’s Jewish community is from right-wing extremists, and not Muslims.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph in February 2010, Reepalu was asked about reports that anti-semitism in Malmo has increased to the point that some of its Jewish residents are (or are considering) moving to Israel. Reepalu again denied that there has been any violence directed at Jews in Malmo, stating that:
Reepalu added on Danish television that the criticism against his statement were a product of Pro-Israeli lobbyism.
The then Leader of the Swedish Social-Democratic Party, Mona Sahlin
, described Reepalu's comments as "unfortunate." Reepalu's statements have been sharply criticized by Sieradzk, who argued that “More often it’s the far-left that commonly use Jews as a punching bag for their disdain toward the policies of Israel, even if Jews in Malmö have nothing to do with Israeli politics."
Reepalu later conceded that he has not been sufficiently informed about the vulnerable situation faced by Jews after meeting with community leaders. Reepalu then claimed that Skånska Dagbladet, the newspaper that initially reported many Reepalu's controversial statements, had misrepresented him as anti-semitic; the newspaper was subsequently banned from a press conference at City Hall, reportedly at Reepalu's request. In response, Skånska Dagbladet published on its website the full tapes of its interview with Ilmar Reepalu, as well as all the texts published in its article series on threats and harassment faced by Malmö Jews, and the exchange of emails between the newspaper and the mayor's office.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
has a relatively small Jewish community of around 20,000. Jews have been permitted to immigrate to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
since the late 18th century, at first only to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Göteborg and Norrköping
Norrköping
Norrköping is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County. The city has a population of 87,247 inhabitants in 2010, out of a municipal total of 130,050, making it Sweden's tenth largest city and eighth largest...
, but this restriction was removed in 1854. In 1870 Jews received full citizens' rights and the first Jewish members of parliament (riksdagen), Aron Philipson and Moritz Rubenson, were elected in 1873. However Swedish non-Protestants, most of which were Catholics and Jews, were still not allowed to teach the subject of Christianity in public schools or to be government ministers (statsråd); these restrictions were removed in 1951. Yiddish has legal status as one of the country's official minority languages
Minority languages of Sweden
In 1999, the Minority Language Committee of Sweden formally declared five minority languages of Sweden: Finnish, Sami language, Romani, Yiddish, and Meänkieli ....
.
After Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Sweden has the highest rate of antisemitic incidents in Europe. Though the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
reports a higher rate of antisemitism in some years. A government study in 2006 estimated that 15% of Swedes agree with the statement: "The Jews have too much influence in the world today".
Five percent of the entire adult population, and 39% of the Muslim population, harbor strong and consistent antisemitic views. Former Prime Minister Göran Persson
Göran Persson
Hans Göran Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Conceding defeat in the September 2006 general election, he announced that he would resign as party leader, and Mona Sahlin was elected to succeed him as...
described these results as "surprising and terrifying". However, the Rabbi of Stockholm's Orthodox Jewish community, Meir Horden claimed that "It's not true to say that the Swedes are anti-Semitic. Some of them are hostile to Israel because they support the weak side, which they perceive the Palestinians to be."
In 2010, Antisemitism among Muslims in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
received media attention after a controversial interview with the city's major, Ilmar Reepalu
Ilmar Reepalu
IImar Reepalu is a Swedish Social Democrat politician and currently the mayor of the city of Malmö. After a professional life as a urban planner in Borås and Malmö, he became a municipal commissioner of Malmö in 1985...
. In March the same year, Fredrik Sieradzk of the Jewish community of Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
told Die Presse, an Austrian Internet publication, that Jews are being "harassed and physically attacked" by "people from the Middle East," although he added that only a small number of Malmo's 40,000 Muslims "exhibit hatred of Jews."
Sieradzk also stated that approximately 30 Jewish families have emigrated from Malmo to Israel in the past year, specifically to escape from harassment estimating that the already small Jewish population is shrinking by 5% a year. “Malmo is a place to move away from, right now many Jews in Malmö are really concerned about the situation and don’t believe they have a future here” he said, citing anti-Semitism as the primary reason.
The Swedish newspaper Skånska Dagbladet reported that attacks on Jews in Malmo totaled 79 in 2009, about twice as many as the previous year, according to police statistics. In December 2010, the Jewish human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization Simon Wiesenthal Center
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center , with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter. According to its mission statement, it is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time...
issued a travel advisory concerning Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, advising Jews to express "extreme caution" when visiting the southern parts of the country due to an increase in verbal and physical harassment of Jewish citizens in the city of Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
.
Holocaust
During the pre-war years of Hitler's power (1933 to 1939), some 3,000 Jews migrated to Sweden to escape Nazi persecution. Because Sweden was neutral during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it helped facilitate the rescue of relatively many Jews from nearby countries: in 1942, 900 Norwegian Jews were given asylum from Nazi persecution
Holocaust in Norway
In the middle of the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, there were at least 2,173 Jews in Norway. At least 775 of these were arrested, detained, and/or deported. 742 were murdered in the camps, 23 died as a result of extrajudicial execution, murder, and suicide during the war; bringing the total...
in their home country, and, most importantly of all, almost the entire Danish Jewish
History of the Jews in Denmark
The Jewish community of Denmark constitutes a small minority with a known history back to the 17th century.-Origins:Medieval Danish art contains depictions of Jews – visibly wearing pointed hats – but there is no evidence any Jews actually lived in Denmark during that time...
community, some 8,000 people, was transported to Sweden in October 1943 (see Rescue of the Danish Jews
Rescue of the Danish Jews
The rescue of the Danish Jews occurred during Nazi Germany's occupation of Denmark during World War II. On October 1st 1943 Nazi leader Adolf Hitler ordered Danish Jews to be arrested and deported...
).
Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Wallenberg was a Swedish businessman, diplomat and humanitarian. He is widely celebrated for his successful efforts to rescue thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary from the Holocaust, during the later stages of World War II...
also saved thousands of Hungarian Jews
History of the Jews in Hungary
Hungarian Jews have existed since at least the 11th century. After struggling against discrimination throughout the Middle Ages, by the early 20th century the community grew to be 5% of Hungary's population , and were prominent in science, the arts and business...
in Budapest by providing them with "protective passports". He also rented thirty-two buildings, funded by United states, and declared them Swedish diplomatic facilities, thus bringing them under protection of diplomatic immunity.
Neo-Nazism
Sweden is home to several white supremacist and neo-Nazi organizations, including:- Legion WasaLegion WasaLegion Wasa is a militant Swedish Neo-Nazi organisation connected to the Swedish party National Socialist Front. The members of Legion Wasa have reportedly been preparing for race war, and making preparations for helping out Saddam Hussein, in the Iraq War against the invading US army....
- Nationalsocialistisk Front (National Socialist Front)
- Svenska Motståndsrörelsen - (Swedish Resistance Movement)
- Vitt Ariskt Motstånd (White Aryan Resistance)
Today
After GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Sweden has the highest rate of antisemitic incidents in Europe. Though the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
reports a higher rate of antisemitism in some years. A government study in 2006 estimated that 15% of Swedes agree with the statement: "The Jews have too much influence in the world today".
Five percent of the entire adult population, and 39% of the Muslim population, harbor strong and consistent antisemitic views. Former Prime Minister Göran Persson
Göran Persson
Hans Göran Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Conceding defeat in the September 2006 general election, he announced that he would resign as party leader, and Mona Sahlin was elected to succeed him as...
described these results as "surprising and terrifying". However, the Rabbi of Stockholm's Orthodox Jewish community, Meir Horden claimed that "It's not true to say that the Swedes are anti-Semitic. Some of them are hostile to Israel because they support the weak side, which they perceive the Palestinians to be."
Malmö
In March 2010, Fredrik Sieradzk of the Jewish community of MalmöMalmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
told Die Presse, an Austrian Internet publication, that Jews are being "harassed and physically attacked" by "people from the Middle East," although he added that only a small number of Malmo's 40,000 Muslims "exhibit hatred of Jews." Leo Gelitman, an Auschwitz survivor that has dedicated her life to teach about the Holocaust, stated with that she is experiencing being labeled as a liar when teaching about the Holocaust at Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
majority schools.
Sieradzk also stated that approximately 30 Jewish families have emigrated from Malmo to Israel in the past year, specifically to escape from harassment estimating that the already small Jewish population is shrinking by 5% a year. “Malmo is a place to move away from, right now many Jews in Malmö are really concerned about the situation and don’t believe they have a future here” he said, citing anti-Semitism as the primary reason.
In 2010, The Forward reported on the current state of Jews and the level of Anti-semitism in Sweden. Henrik Bachner, a writer and professor of history at the University of Lund, claimed that members of the Swedish Parliament have attended anti-Israel rallies where the Israeli flag was burned while the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah were waved, and the rhetoric was often anti-Semitic—not just anti-Israel. But such public rhetoric is not branded hateful and denounced. Charles Small, director of the Yale University Initiative for the Study of Anti-Semitism, stated that “Sweden is a microcosm of contemporary anti-Semitism. It’s a form of acquiescence to radical Islam, which is diametrically opposed to everything Sweden stands for.” Per Gudmundson, chief editorial writer for Svenska Dagbladet, has sharply criticized politicians who him claims offer “weak excuses” for Muslims accused of anti-Semitic crimes. “Politicians say these kids are poor and oppressed, and we have made them hate. They are, in effect, saying the behavior of these kids is in some way our fault.”
As of the 2010, the Jewish community of Malmö consisted of about 700 individuals, most of who are descendants of refugees from Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
during World War II. The Swedish newspaper Skånska Dagbladet reported that attacks on Jews in Malmo totaled 79 in 2009, about twice as many as the previous year, according to police statistics. Judith Popinski, and 86-year-old Holocaust survivor, told The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
that she is no longer invited to schools that have a large Muslim presence to tell her story of surviving the Holocaust. Popinski, who found refuge in Malmo in 1945, stated that, until recently, she told her story in Malmo schools as part of their Holocaust studies program , but that now, many schools no longer ask Holocaust survivors to tell their stories, because Muslim students treat them with such disrespect, either ignoring the speakers or walking out of the class. She further stated that "Malmo reminds me of the anti-Semitism I felt as a child in Poland before the war. “I am not safe as a Jew in Sweden anymore.”
In December 2010, the Jewish human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization Simon Wiesenthal Center
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center , with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter. According to its mission statement, it is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time...
issued a travel advisory concerning Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, advising Jews to express "extreme caution" when visiting the southern parts of the country due to an increase in verbal and physical harassment of Jewish citizens in the city of Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
.
2009 Davis Cup
In 2009, Malmö hosted a tennis matchTennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
between Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
during the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
. Due to "safety reasons", no fans were allowed to enter the stadium and watch the tennis game. However, numerous Swedish politicians had called for the match to be cancelled due to their pro-Palestinian views and the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead, with this idea being discarded because the Swedish side would have had an automatic forfeit loss, and therefore the team's elimination, from the Cup tournament. A plan to move the match from Malmö to Stockholm failed due to logistical issues and a lack of time. In the end, Israel defeated and eliminated the Swedish team by a 3–2 score. The match drew more than 6000 Pro-Palestine protesters, making it one of the largest demonstrations in Swedish history
History of Sweden
Modern Sweden started out of the Kalmar Union formed in 1397 and by the unification of the country by King Gustav Vasa in the 16th century. In the 17th century Sweden expanded its territories to form the Swedish empire. Most of these conquered territories had to be given up during the 18th century...
. More than 100 protesters were detained as several hundred Arab nationalists
Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and literature of the Arabs, calling for rejuvenation and political union in the Arab world...
and Left-wing militants clashed with more than 1000 policemen that were guarding the stadium. Malmö was banned from hosting any further Davis Cup matches in the aftermath of the riots. The city was also fined $25,000 (lowered to $5,000 on appeal) and forced to pay an additional $15,000 to recoup revenues lost when fans were barred from the match.
Ilmar Reepalu
Swedish newspapers and political leaders as well as Israeli media have criticised Malmö's mayor, Ilmar ReepaluIlmar Reepalu
IImar Reepalu is a Swedish Social Democrat politician and currently the mayor of the city of Malmö. After a professional life as a urban planner in Borås and Malmö, he became a municipal commissioner of Malmö in 1985...
(a Social Democrat), for denying the rise of Antisemitism in Malmö. .
When confronted with the issue during an interview in 2010 with Andreas Lovén, a journalist in Skånska Dagbladet, Reepalu states: “We accept neither Zionism nor anti-Semitism. They are extremes that put themselves above other groups, and believe they have a lower value." He also criticized the Malmo's Jewish community for its support for Israel, stating that “I would wish for the Jewish community to denounce Israeli violations against the civilian population in Gaza. Instead it decides to hold a [pro-Israeli] demonstration in the Grand Square [of Malmö], which could send the wrong signals.” Jewish leaders responded that the demonstration Reepalu was referring to was "pro-peace rally" arranged by the Jewish Community in Malmö "which came under attack from members of a violent counter demonstration" and accused Reepalu of "suggesting that the violence directed towards us is our own fault simply because we didn’t speak out against Israel."
Reepalu has denied that, apart from at the infamous demonstration, there had been any violent attacks on Jews in the city citing police figures. Although the same police figures show that hate crimes against Jews have doubled over the last year. In January,when asked to explain why Jewish religious services often require security guards and even police protection, Reepalu claimed that the violence directed toward Malmö’s Jewish community is from right-wing extremists, and not Muslims.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph in February 2010, Reepalu was asked about reports that anti-semitism in Malmo has increased to the point that some of its Jewish residents are (or are considering) moving to Israel. Reepalu again denied that there has been any violence directed at Jews in Malmo, stating that:
There haven't been any attacks on Jewish people, and if Jews from the city want to move to Israel that is not a matter for Malmö.
Reepalu added on Danish television that the criticism against his statement were a product of Pro-Israeli lobbyism.
The then Leader of the Swedish Social-Democratic Party, Mona Sahlin
Mona Sahlin
Mona Ingeborg Sahlin is a Swedish politician and the former leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.Sahlin has been a Member of Parliament, representing Stockholm County, from 1982 to 1996 and again since 2002. She has also held various ministerial posts in the Swedish government from 1990...
, described Reepalu's comments as "unfortunate." Reepalu's statements have been sharply criticized by Sieradzk, who argued that “More often it’s the far-left that commonly use Jews as a punching bag for their disdain toward the policies of Israel, even if Jews in Malmö have nothing to do with Israeli politics."
Reepalu later conceded that he has not been sufficiently informed about the vulnerable situation faced by Jews after meeting with community leaders. Reepalu then claimed that Skånska Dagbladet, the newspaper that initially reported many Reepalu's controversial statements, had misrepresented him as anti-semitic; the newspaper was subsequently banned from a press conference at City Hall, reportedly at Reepalu's request. In response, Skånska Dagbladet published on its website the full tapes of its interview with Ilmar Reepalu, as well as all the texts published in its article series on threats and harassment faced by Malmö Jews, and the exchange of emails between the newspaper and the mayor's office.
See also
- History of the Jews in SwedenHistory of the Jews in SwedenThe History of the Jews in Sweden probably began with arrivals from the Hanseatic League in medieval times, but there are no records. In Elizabethan times it was common for European royalty to have Jewish doctors at court, and there is a record of a Jewish doctor who served Gustav Vasa in the 16th...
- Racism in SwedenRacism in SwedenRacism and xenophobia have been reported in Sweden.According to the European network against racism, skin color, ethnic/religious background have significant impact on an individual's opportunities in the labor market, affecting mainly Roma, Blacks and Muslims...
- Neo-NazismNeo-NazismNeo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
- Islam and Antisemitism
- Antisemitism in the Arab world
- New Antisemitism
- Religious intoleranceReligious intoleranceReligious intolerance is intolerance against another's religious beliefs or practices.-Definition:The mere statement on the part of a religion that its own beliefs and practices are correct and any contrary beliefs incorrect does not in itself constitute intolerance...
- Antisemitism in EuropeAntisemitism in EuropeAntisemitism, or a fear and hatred of the Jewish people, has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christian and pre-Christian civilizations of Europe...