antisemitism in Sweden
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The Jewish community in Sweden has been prevalent since the 18th century. Today
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
has a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
community of around 20,000,Specktor, Mordeca
"Stockholm conference puts spotlight on Sweden's Jews"
''The American Jewish World''. Retrieved 17 December 2006 from the "Jews of Sweden", The Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust website (26–28 January 2000).
which makes it the 7th largest in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. During 1933–39, some 3,000 Jews migrated to Sweden to escape persecution in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Sweden was neutral during World War II, and due to this it became a place of asylum for Jews from
occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
. It is suggested that the reason for anti-semitism in its contemporary context is the mass migration of Muslims who have brought anti-Jewish attitudes from their countries of origin to Sweden. This anti-semitism can be seen in sporting, political and social acts, even in the post 2000 era.


History


Early history of Jews in Sweden

Jews have been permitted to reside in Sweden since the late 18th century. Prior to this, Jews were sought after as teachers of
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
in the universities, but the condition for being appointed to the teaching post was that they convert to
Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
. Lutheran
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
was the state religion (since the 16th century) and the only accepted religion. Opposition was strong against other faiths, especially Catholicism. Jews were sought after to stimulate the
Swedish economy The economy of Sweden is a highly developed export-oriented economy, aided by timber, hydropower, and iron ore. These constitute the resource base of an economy oriented toward foreign trade. The main industries include motor vehicles, telecommun ...
, and were actively encouraged to settle. They required capital of 2000
riksdaler The svenska riksdaler () was the name of a Swedish coin first minted in 1604. Between 1777 and 1873, it was the currency of Sweden. The daler, like the dollar,''National Geographic''. June 2002. p. 1. ''Ask Us''. was named after the German Thaler. ...
s to obtain a letter of protection (skyddsbrev). This included the value of clothes, household gadgets and inventory, regular payments made for upkeep, cash and promissory notes. After the application has been made to the magistrate, the applicant would be given the status of ''Husbonde'' and could legally support himself with the trade or business he had chosen. The status of ''skyddsjude'' derived from German
schutzjude ''Schutzjude'' (, "protected Jew") was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts. Within the Holy Roman Empire, except some eastern territories gained by the Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries (e.g. Brandenb ...
and the legislation in the 18th century regulating Jews in Sweden was put together after the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee (''Konstitutionsuttskottet'') had obtained copies of the German laws regulating Jews in
Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
,
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
and other German kingdoms and duchies. It was discussed in committee whether Jews should wear a distinguishing mark when walking in the street - perhaps a red or yellow hatband, but this idea was rejected. Poor Jews were subject to deportation, pursuant to a law banning gypsies, tight rope dancers and sellers of barometers. A large number of restrictions were placed on Jews, including restriction to towns:
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
,
Göteborg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has a p ...
,
Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...
and
Landskrona Landskrona (old da, Landskrone) is a town in Scania, Sweden. Located on the shores of the Öresund, it occupies a natural port, which has lent the town at first military and subsequent commercial significance. Ferries operate from Landskrona t ...
: Jews could not reside or own property in the countryside: this restriction was first removed in 1854. In 1870 Jews received full citizens' rights and the first Jewish members of the
Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
, Aron Philipson and Moritz Rubenson, were elected in 1872. 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 cabinet ministers (''statsråd''). (These restrictions were not removed until 1 January 1953.) During the early 1900s, the journalist
Mauritz Rydgren Mauritz is a variant spelling of Maurits. Notable people with the name include: * Mauritz Andersson (1886–1971), Swedish wrestler * Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt (1757–1814), Finnish courtier and diplomat * Mauritz Brännström (1918–2006), Swedish ...
planned an antisemitic
broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...
.
Barthold Lundén Barthold may refer to: Given name * Bertulf (Archbishop of Trier) (died 883) * * Surname * Vasily Bartold, also known as Wilhelm Barthold (1869–1930), a Turcologist and historian of Central Asia * Charles Barthold, an American photograph ...
published such a newspaper, named ''Vidi'', between 1919 and 1931. In 1923, Lundén also founded the
Swedish Antisemitic Union Swedish Antisemitic Union ( sv, Svenska Antisemitiska Föreningen) was an anti-Jewish organisation in the early 1920s. It promoted hostility towards Jews and also used the Swastika. The Swedish Antisemitic Union was in a sense, a forerunner to the ...
(''Svenska Antisemitiska Föreningen''; ''SAF'').Lööw (2004), p. 13.


Fascists, Nazis and the Holocaust

Several Swedish
fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
and
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
parties, formed during the 1920s and 1930s, were generally strongly antisemitic and/or grew out of the milieu of the Antisemitic Union (even though it was formally dissolved in 1931). On 22 January 1932, the largest of these parties, the ''Svenska nationalsocialistiska partiet'' (Swedish National Socialist Party) held its first public rally, when
Birger Furugård Birger Furugård (8 December 1887 – 4 December 1961) was a Swedish politician and veterinarian. He hailed from Deje in Värmland. During the 1920s Furugård became inspired by the advance of Nazism in Germany. He made several trips to German ...
addressed an audience of 6,000 at the
Haymarket Haymarket may refer to: Places Australia * Haymarket, New South Wales, area of Sydney, Australia Germany * Heumarkt (KVB), transport interchange in Cologne on the site of the Heumarkt (literally: hay market) Russia * Sennaya Square (''Hay Squ ...
in Stockholm. The peak in popularity for Swedish Nazis came in the municipal elections of 1934 when Nazi parties were victorious in over 100 electoral contests. During 1933–39, some 3,000 Jews migrated to Sweden to escape persecution in
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Because Sweden was neutral during World War II, it became a place of asylum for Jews from
occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
: in 1942, 900
Norwegian Jews The history of Jews in Norway dates back to the 1400s. Although there were very likely Jewish merchants, sailors and others who entered Norway during the Middle Ages, no efforts were made to establish a Jewish community. Through the early mod ...
were given asylum from Nazi persecution and, in October 1943, almost the entire
Danish Jewish The history of the Jews in Denmark goes back to the 1600s. At present, the Jewish community of Denmark constitutes a small minority of about 6,000 persons within Danish society. The community's population peaked prior to the Holocaust at whi ...
community, some 8,000 people, was transported to Sweden (''see
Rescue of the Danish Jews The Danish resistance movement, with the assistance of many Danish citizens, managed to evacuate 7,220 of Denmark's 7,800 Jews, plus 686 non-Jewish spouses, by sea to nearby neutral Sweden during the Second World War.Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. 31 J ...
also saved thousands of
Hungarian Jews The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived i ...
in Budapest by providing them with "protective passports". He also rented 32 buildings, funded by the United States, and declared them Swedish diplomatic facilities, thus bringing them under protection of diplomatic immunity. Following the war, Swedish Nazis remained strongly antisemitic; as early as May 1945 became early adopters of
Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...
. During the immediate post-war period, far right parties were relatively inactive politically. The fascist ''Nysvenska Rörelsen'' (NSR, New Swedish Movement, formed in 1941 as ''Svensk Opposition'') attempted to distance itself from its own history and Nazi Germany. The NSR cultivated ties to similar organizations in other countries and established an employment office in Malmö for expatriate Danes and Norwegians who had fled to Sweden after collaborating with wartime German occupation forces. In 1956, a new Swedish Nazi party, the ''Nordiska Rikspartiet'' (''NRP''; "Nordic Reich Party"), was formed. It had a paramilitary faction called the National Action Group (RAG, Riksaktiongruppen), and several of its members were convicted of assaults and threats. (In the late 1980s one of the RAG activists was selected as chair of the newly formed
Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, a ...
.) There was a so-called "Swastika epidemic" in 1960, when the painting of swastikas spread rapidly in many countries. US rabbi
Max Nussbaum Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) (1 ...
alleged that the swastika-painting campaign was led from Malmö by
Per Engdahl Per Claes Sven Edvard Engdahl (25 February 1909 – 4 May 1994) was a leading Swedish far-right politician. He was a leader of '' Sveriges Fascistiska Kamporganisation'' (SFKO or Sweden's Fascist Action Organization), during the 1930s. Born in ...
. Engdahl denied this and claimed that the NSR was the victim of a conspiracy by the
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...
and that Jews themselves were behind the swastikas. From the middle of the 1960s, the NSR membership and contributions dropped, and the party languished (with the exception of a few high-profile events).


Neo-Nazis, white supremacists and white nationalists

From the late 1980s, new
far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
groups espousing antisemitic belief emerged in Sweden. These groups are linked largely by the NRP. In its magazine, ''Storm'', the party stated an ambition to collect all the "race-conscious whites". These groups included
White Aryan Resistance White Aryan Resistance (WAR) is a White supremacy, white supremacist and Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi organization in the United States which was founded and formerly led by former Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon Tom Metzger. It is based in Warsaw, Indiana, ...
(1991–93),
National Socialist Front The National Socialist Front ( sv, Nationalsocialistisk front, NSF) was at the time of its dissolution the largest Neo-Nazi political party in Sweden. The organization was founded in Karlskrona on 8 August 1994. It became a political party on 20 ...
(dissolved in 2008) and
Legion Wasa Legion Wasa was a Swedish neo-Nazi paramilitary organisation founded in 1999. The members of Legion Wasa have reportedly been preparing for race war, and once made preparations for helping out Saddam Hussein in the Iraq War against the invading ...
(inactive since around 2010). Sweden remains home to active neo-Nazi or white supremacist organizations espousing antisemitic beliefs, including
Nordic Resistance Movement The Nordic Resistance Movement; Norwegian: nb, Nordiske motstandsbevegelsen, NMB; nn, Nordiske motstandsrørsla NMR; fi, Pohjoismainen Vastarintaliike, PVL; is, Norræna mótstöðuhreyfingin, NMH; da, Den nordiske modstandsbevægelse, ...
.


Developments since 2000

Many commentators regard contemporary antisemitism in Sweden as largely a product of mass migration of Muslims who have brought anti-Jewish attitudes from their countries of origin to Sweden. Sweden has the third highest rate of antisemitic incidents in Europe, following Germany and Austria, although the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
came third in some years.The 2005 U.S. State Department Report on Global Antisemitism. A government study in 2006 estimated that 15% of Swedes agree with the statement: "The Jews have too much influence in the world today".Henrik Bachner and Jonas Ring. . levandehistoria.se 5% of the total adult population and 39% of adult Muslims "harbour systematic antisemitic views". The former prime minister
Göran Persson Hans Göran Persson (; born 20 January 1949) is a Swedish politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Persson was first elected to the Swedish Parlia ...
described these results as "surprising and terrifying". However, the rabbi of Stockholm's Orthodox Jewish community, Meir Horden, said 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 Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
to be." In 2010, alleged
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
among Muslims in
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
received media attention after a controversial interview with the then city's mayor,
Ilmar Reepalu Ilmar Reepalu (born 11 October 1943) is an Estonian-born Swedish Social Democrat politician who was the 17th chairman of the municipal board in Malmö from 1994 to 2013. After a professional life as an urban planner in Borås and Malmö, he bec ...
. In March of the same year, Fredrik Sieradzk of the Jewish community of Malmö told ''
Die Presse ''Die Presse'' is a German-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vienna, Austria. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria. History and profile ''Die Presse'' was first printed on 3 July 1848 as a liberal (libertarian)-bourgeoi ...
'', an Austrian newspaper, that Jews are being "harassed and physically attacked" by "people from the Middle East," although he added that only a small number of Malmö's 90,000 Muslims "exhibit hatred of Jews." The population of Malmö began to decrease in the 1970s due to decline of the once-dominant shipbuilding and textile industries. This also led to a decrease in the Jewish population. Sieradzk has stated that approximately 30 Jewish families have emigrated from Malmö to Israel in the past year, specifically to escape from harassment estimating that the already small Jewish population is shrinking by 5% a year. "Malmö 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 antisemitism as the primary reason. The Malmö Synagogue suffered arson attacks in 2010 and 2012. The Swedish newspaper ''Skånska Dagbladet'' reported that attacks on Jews in Malmö totaled 79 in 2009, about twice as many as the previous year, according to police statistics.Report: Anti-Semitic attacks rising in Scandinavia
, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), 22 March 2010.
In December 2010, the Jewish
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
organization
Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating anti-Semitism, tolerance educat ...
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. However, the leader of the Jewish congregation would have liked the center to consult them before issuing the warning. Fred Khan, the congregation's chairman told ''Sydvenska Dagbladet'' suggested that the rise in the crime statistics might not reflect an actual increase in crimes endured by the community over the proceeding year. Members of the congregation do face harassment, but a substantial degree of the incidents remain unreported to the police. In the last year members of the community had been more strongly advised to report all abuse to the police. On 8 June 2012, antisemitic graffiti was spray-painted on the external wall of the old Jewish cemetery in Malmö. The graffiti reads "A PIG" in Swedish (en gris) and a swastika. On 28 September, same year, an explosion occurred at a Malmö Jewish community building. Since 2014, several members of ''Sverigedemokraterna'' (''SD''; "Sweden Democrats"), a political party represented in the Swedish ''Riksdag'', have been accused of expressing antisemitic views. While the party (founded in 1988) describes itself as
social conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
and
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
, it initially had ties to fascist, white supremacist and other
far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
groups.Rydgren, 2006, pp. 108–109.


Contemporary acts of antisemitism

According to CFCA (the Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism), antisemitism in Sweden nowadays focuses on the
Israeli–Palestinian conflict The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is one of the world's most enduring conflicts, beginning in the mid-20th century. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside other ef ...
. A survey conducted by the
EU Agency for Fundamental Rights The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, usually known in English as the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), is a Vienna-based agency of the European Union inaugurated on 1 March 2007. It was established by Council Regulation (EC) No 168/2 ...
found out that in 2012, 40–50% of Swedish Jews had frequently heard the accusation that "Israelis behave to the Palestinians like the Nazis to the Jews". Moreover, a series of proposed measures in Sweden banning
kosher slaughter In Judaism, ''shechita'' (anglicized: ; he, ; ; also transliterated ''shehitah, shechitah, shehita'') is slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according to ''kashrut''. Sources states that sheep and cattle should be slaughtered ...
,
ritual circumcision Religious circumcision generally occurs shortly after birth, during childhood, or around puberty as part of a rite of passage. Circumcision is most prevalent in the religions of Judaism and Islam. Circumcision for religious reasons is most promi ...
, and possibly even the importation of kosher meat, had caused a Swedish Jewish activist to file for asylum in her own country. Also In 2012, the President of the
European Jewish Congress The European Jewish Congress, (EJC), was founded in 1986. It is based in Brussels, with offices in Paris, Strasbourg, Berlin and Budapest. It is a representative body of democratically elected European Jewish communities throughout Europe. Overv ...
,
Moshe Kantor Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (russian: link=no, Вячеслав Моше Кантор, born on September 8, 1953 in Moscow) is a Russian businessman and philanthropist who has close ties to the Vladimir Putin regime in Russia. Kantor heads the Acro ...
condemned the behavior of the Swedish Government which according to him is "the only European country that is refusing to discuss the problem of Anti-Semitism prevailing within its borders". In 2013, a total of ten Antisemitic incidents were reported, including antisemitic statements made publicly by Swedish politicians, swastikas which were drawn on Jewish property and the Slogan "Burn Israel Burn" which was printed on T-shirts. In 2015 the journal ''
Ethnic and Racial Studies ''Ethnic and Racial Studies'' is a peer-reviewed social science academic journal that publishes scholarly articles and book reviews on anthropology, cultural studies, ethnicity and race, and sociology. The editors-in-chief are Martin Bulmer ( U ...
'' published a research conducted between 2003 and 2009 in secondary school students in Sweden. Its goal was to examine changes in antisemitic attitudes among youngest. The results of the survey showed no significant change in the total level of antisemitism between the two groups of youths (the group of 2003 and the group of 2009). However, addition results imply other differences: In 2003, students living in the big cities of Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö have the highest levels of antisemitism, compared to 2009, when students living in smaller municipalities and the countryside have the highest significant levels of antisemitism. More findings showed that in both 2003 and 2009 students born outside of Sweden, or their parents were born outside Sweden, display higher levels of antisemitism compared to students born in Sweden. In December 2017 a dozen men hurled Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in
Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
. No injuries were reported, and those inside the building hid in the basement. The incident followed a pro-Palestinian protest. Two day later, an arson attack took place at a Jewish cemetery.


Situation in Malmö since 2009

On 13 January 2009, Molotov cocktails were thrown inside and outside a funeral chapel at the old Jewish cemetery in the city of
Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
, south Sweden, in what seemed to be an antisemitic act. It was the third time the chapel had been attacked in the few weeks before this incident. In March 2010, Fredrik Sieradzk of the Jewish community of Malmö told ''Die Presse'', an Austrian newspaper, that Jews were being "harassed and physically attacked" by "people from the Middle East," although he added that only a small number of Malmö's 40,000
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
s "exhibit hatred of Jews." Lea Gleitman, an
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
survivor who had dedicated her life to teaching about the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
, stated that she was being called a liar when teaching about the Holocaust at Muslim-majority schools. Sieradzk also stated that approximately thirty Jewish families had emigrated from Malmö to Israel in the previous year, specifically to escape from harassment, estimating that the already small Jewish population was shrinking by 5 per cent 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 antisemitism as the primary reason. In 2010, ''The Forward'' reported on the current state of Jews and the level of antisemitism in Sweden. Henrik Bachner, a writer and professor of history at the
University of Lund , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion As of 2010, the Jewish community of Malmö consisted of about 700 individuals, most of whom were descendants of refugees from
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The Swedish newspaper ''Skånska Dagbladet'' reported that there had been 79 attacks on Jews in Malmö in 2009, about twice as many as the previous year, according to police statistics. Judith Popinski, an 86-year-old Holocaust survivor, told ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' that she was no longer invited to schools with a large Muslim presence to tell her story of surviving the Holocaust. Popinski, who found refuge in Malmö in 1945, stated that, until recently, she had told her story in Malmö schools as part of their Holocaust studies program, but that now, many schools were no longer asking Holocaust survivors to tell their stories, because Muslim students treated them with such disrespect, either ignoring them 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 any more." In December 2010, the
Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating anti-Semitism, tolerance educat ...
, a Jewish
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
organization, 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, physical, and violent harassment of Jews in the city of Malmö. On 6 September 2012, the international United Nations Watch organization discussed the anti-Semitic attacks in Malmö and stated it considered the phenomenon extremely serious, given Sweden's candidacy for membership in the UN Human Rights Council. The organization called on Sweden to supply adequate protection for the Jewish community and to develop special initiatives aimed at educating against antisemitism. It also reprimanded Reepalu for what it viewed as his multiple defamatory and incendiary remarks concerning the Jewish community in Malmö and the antisemitism it faces. Moreover, recent articles over the looming attacks on Malmö's Jewish community were published in the Swedish media also during the year of 2012, in particular an attack on a Jewish center on 28 September 2012. In the wake of a report that marked Malmö as a hub for antisemitic actions in Sweden, the discourse further dealt with the inquiry over the roots of that antisemitism, whether linked with classic Jewish-hatred or exacerbated by the prolonged Arab-Israeli conflict. In 2013, Siavosh Derakhti, a Swedish-born son of Iranian immigrant parents and founder of Young People Against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia, received the first
Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. 31 J ...
Award, an honor named after the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews from Nazi death camps during the Second World War. Because of his social activism focused on reducing antisemitism and xenophobia, the selection committee said Derakhti set a "positive example" in his hometown of Malmö and throughout Sweden. On 8 November 2012, the Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism gave Derakhti its first Elsa Award, established by Committee member Henrik Frenkel in memory of his parents "to encourage young people to incorporate social media into the battle against Swedish ant-Semitism". In December 2017, after president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
announced that Jerusalem will be recognised as the capital of Israel by the United States, there was a spontaneous demonstration in a central square Möllevångstorget where some 200 people who shouted that "an intifada has been proclaimed from Malmö and we will shoot the Jews". The following day another crowd gathered to shout that "Jews must remember that the army of
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
will return". No organiser for the crowd could be identified.


2009 Davis Cup

In 2009, Malmö hosted a
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
match between
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and Sweden during the
Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
, after the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict. The
Malmö Municipality Malmö Municipality ( sv, Malmö kommun), or City of Malmö (''Malmö stad''), is a Swedish municipality in Skåne County, the southernmost of the counties of Sweden (and conterminous with the historical province (''landskap'') of Scania). Whe ...
politicians were concerned about extremists, and decided due to security reasons to only let a small audience in. However, numerous Swedish politicians had called for the match to be cancelled due to their pro-Palestinian views and the aftermath of the Gaza War, 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 6,000 pro-Palestinian protesters, making it one of the largest demonstrations against Israel in
Swedish history The history of Sweden can be traced back to the melting of the Northern Polar Ice Caps. From as early as 12000 BC, humans have inhabited this area. Throughout the Stone Age, between 8000 BC and 6000 BC, early inhabitants used s ...
. More than 100 protesters were detained as several hundred
Arab nationalists Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and ...
and supporters of the
far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...
clashed with more than 1,000 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 by the International Tennis Federation (lowered to $5,000 on appeal) and forced to pay an additional $15,000 to recoup revenues lost when spectators were barred from the match.


Ilmar Reepalu

Swedish newspapers and political leaders as well as Israeli media have criticised Malmö's mayor,
Ilmar Reepalu Ilmar Reepalu (born 11 October 1943) is an Estonian-born Swedish Social Democrat politician who was the 17th chairman of the municipal board in Malmö from 1994 to 2013. After a professional life as an urban planner in Borås and Malmö, he bec ...
(a
Social Democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
), for denying the rise of Antisemitism in Malmö. .Malmö mayor says unaware of level of attacks on Jews
by Peter Vinthagen Simpson, ''The Local'', 26 February 2010.
When confronted with the issue during an interview in 2010 with Andreas Lovén, a journalist in
Skånska Dagbladet ''Skånska Dagbladet'' is a newspaper based in Malmö, Sweden, that has been in circulation since 1888. History and profile ''Skånska Dagbladet'' was established in 1888, and its headquarters is in Malmö. The Skånska Dagbladet AB is the pub ...
, Reepalu stated: "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 Malmö'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 ro-Israelidemonstration in the Grand Square
f Malmö F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hist ...
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 stated that apart from at the demonstration, there had not been any violent attacks on Jews in the city, by claiming to cite police figures. However, 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 antisemitism in Malmö 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 Malmö, 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 Mona Ingeborg Sahlin ( born 9 March 1957) is a Swedish politician who was leader of the opposition and leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 2007 to 2011. Sahlin was a Member of Parliament, representing Stockholm County, from 198 ...
, 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 antisemitic; 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 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. In March 2012, Reepalu again came under criticism from the Jewish community when he told a Swedish magazine that the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim party wedish Democratshad "infiltrated" the city's Jewish community in order to turn it against Muslims. Reepalu later said he had no basis for his remarks and that he "shouldn't have put it that way." Jewish community officials subsequently sent a letter to the Social Democratic leader
Stefan Löfven Kjell Stefan Löfven (; officially ''Löfvén''; born 21 July 1957) is a Swedish politician who serves as the Party of European Socialists, President of European Socialists since October 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Sweden fro ...
condemning what Reepalu had said. The letter stated that "Regardless of what he says and does from now on, we don't trust him." Lofven and Social Democratic secretary
Carin Jämtin Carin Jämtin (born 3 August 1964 in Stockholm) is a Sweden, Swedish civil servant and former politician who has been serving as the Director General of the Swedish International Development Agency since 2017. She served as party secretary of the ...
subsequently agreed to meet with Jewish community leaders to discuss the comments and actions of Reepalu, who was being criticized by members of his own party. Reepalu responded to this
controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
by stating in an interview with ''Haaretz'' that "I've never been an anti-Semite and never will be."


Antisemitic statements by members of Sweden Democrats since 2014

In a 2014 interview with the newspaper ''
Dagens Nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ''Da ...
'',
Björn Söder Björn Olof Söder (born 3 January 1976) is a Swedish Sweden Democrats politician who served as Second Deputy Speaker of the Riksdag from September 2014 to September 2018. He has been a Member of the Riksdag (SD) for Stockholm County since Octobe ...
at the time party secretary of the
Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, a ...
and Second Deputy Speaker of the ''Riksdag'' stated that, in his view, people with dual national identities would not necessarily identify as Swedish and immigrants should have to undergo
Cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially. The different types of cultural assi ...
. Söder stated that officially recognized minorities, including Jews,
Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise net ...
, and
Tornedalians The Tornedalians are descendants of Finns who, at some point, settled to the areas of today's Northern Sweden near the Torne Valley district and west from there. History Tornedalians migrated from today's Southern Finland, mainly from Häme and ...
in many cases had dual cultural identities and would probably be proud of both heritages. However, Söder's remarks were widely interpreted as meaning that Jews could not be Swedish unless they abandoned their Jewish identity. The comments caused other parliamentary parties to call for Söder's resignation. The Simon Wiesenthal Center listed the statement as number six on their list of the top ten most anti-semitic events of 2014. In an interview with ''
The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...
'', Söder denied the charges of antisemitism and claimed ''Dagens Nyheter'' had taken his statements out of context. In October 2016, a video of the parliamentarian and economic policy spokesperson Oscar Sjöstedt making
antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
jokes was released. Whilst at a party, believed to have taken place in 2011, he laughingly told a story about former co-workers with
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
sympathies mocking Jews and comparing them to sheep. During the same month, the parliamentarian and second vice party leader
Carina Herrstedt Carina may refer to: Places Australia * Carina, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane * Carina Heights, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane * Carina, Victoria, a locality in Mildura Serbia * Carina, Osečina, a village in the Kolubara District P ...
was confronted with having sent an allegedly
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
,
antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
,
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
and anti-romaniyst email to her then spouse in 2011. The email, which had been leaked from the party's internal servers, for instance contained phrases that named black
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
players from the team
Landskrona BoIS Landskrona Boll och Idrottsällskap ( en, Landskrona Ball and Sports Society, locally referred to as BoIS) is a Swedish professional football club located in Landskrona, Scania, which currently plays in Superettan, the second league tier of fo ...
as
niggers In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in ca ...
whilst also picturing
Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
as thieves. In December 2016, the parliamentarian Anna Hagwall was thrown out of the party after using arguments associated with antisemitism to argue for a bill that she introduced in parliament intended to reduce
concentration of media ownership Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates in ...
in Sweden. In September 2017, it was brought to light that 14 active or former municipal representatives of the party had supported the
Nordic Resistance Movement The Nordic Resistance Movement; Norwegian: nb, Nordiske motstandsbevegelsen, NMB; nn, Nordiske motstandsrørsla NMR; fi, Pohjoismainen Vastarintaliike, PVL; is, Norræna mótstöðuhreyfingin, NMH; da, Den nordiske modstandsbevægelse, ...
, a
Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
organization, financially through memberships or purchases of antisemitic and racist literature or souvenirs.


See also

*
History of the Jews in Sweden The history of Jews in Sweden can be traced from the 17th century, when their presence is verified in the baptism records of the Stockholm Cathedral. Several Jewish families were baptised into the Lutheran Church, a requirement for permissio ...
*
Racism in Sweden Racism and xenophobia have been reported and investigated in Sweden. Sweden has the most segregated labor market of people with foreign background in Europe, when measured against both high and low educational level by OECD statistics. According ...
*
Neo-Nazism Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
* Antisemitism in Islam#Sweden *
Antisemitism in the Arab world Antisemitism (prejudice against and hatred of Jews) has increased greatly in the Arab world since the beginning of the 20th century, for several reasons: the dissolution and breakdown of the Ottoman Empire and traditional Islamic society; Eu ...
*
New antisemitism New antisemitism is the idea that a new form of antisemitism has developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, tending to manifest itself as anti-Zionism and criticism of the Israeli government. The concept is included in some definitions ...
*
Religious intolerance Religious intolerance is Toleration, intolerance of another's religious beliefs or practices or lack thereof. Mere statements which are contrary to one's beliefs do not constitute intolerance. Religious intolerance, rather, occurs when a group ...
*
Antisemitism in Europe Antisemitism (also spelled anti-Semitism)—prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews— has experienced a long history of expression since the days of ancient civilizations, with most of it having originated in the Christianity, Chris ...


References


External links


Mikael Tossavainen reviews (in English) Henrik Bachner's ''Judefrågan: Debatt om antisemitism i 1930-talets Sverige'' (The Jewish Question: Debates on Anti-Semitism in the Sweden of the 1930s) ''Jewish Political Studies Review 22:3-4 (Fall 2010)''
https://journal.fi/nj/article/view/67611 * ttps://journal.fi/nj/article/view/67611 Lars Dencik, Karl Marosi. Different antisemitisms: on three distinct forms of antisemitism in contemporary Europe. With special focus on Sweden. {{Antisemitism in Europe The Holocaust and Sweden Racism in Sweden Jews and Judaism in Sweden Judaism in Sweden Islam and antisemitism New antisemitism
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...