History of the Jews in Sweden
Encyclopedia
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
in 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....
probably began with arrivals from the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
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 century
16th century
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century lasted from 1501 to 1600. It is regarded by historians as the century in which the rise of the West occurred....
.
Church records at Stockholm Cathedral
Storkyrkan
Sankt Nikolai kyrka , most commonly known as Storkyrkan and Stockholms domkyrka , is the oldest church in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is an important example of Swedish Brick Gothic...
record several Jewish families entering Sweden and being baptised into the Lutheran Church, a condition at that time imposed upon any Jew who desired to settle in Sweden. In 1681 for example, the Jewish families of Israel Mandel and Moses Jacob in 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...
, 28 persons in all, were baptised in the German church of that city in the presence of King Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....
, the dowager queen Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp was the queen consort of King Charles X of Sweden and queen mother of King Charles XI...
, and several high state officials.
King Carl XII
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
(1697–1718) spent five years with an encampment in the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
town of Bender and accumulated a large number of debts there for his entourage. Jewish and Muslim creditors followed him to Sweden, and the Swedish law was altered so that they could hold religious services and circumcise their male progeny.
Early history
In 1680 the Jews of Stockholm petitioned the king that they be permitted to reside there without abandoning their creed, but the application was denied because the local consistory had refused to endorse it. On December 3, 1685, Charles XI ordered the governor-general of the capital to see to it that no Jews were permitted to settle in Stockholm, or in any other part of the country, "on account of the danger of the eventual influence of the Jewish religion on the pure evangelical faith." In case Jews were found in any Swedish community, they were to be notified to leave within fourteen days.Permission to settle
Through court patronage Jewish merchants were occasionally appointed royal purveyors; and during the warlike reign of Charles XII (a.k.a. Karl XII) the king usually had one or more wealthy Jews with him in the field, to take care of the paymaster's department of his army.Through their influence permission was obtained (1718) for Jews to settle in the kingdom without the necessity of abjuring their religion.
Charles XII had spent five years in Bender
Bender, Moldova
Bender or Bendery, also known as Tighina is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under de facto control of the unrecognized Transnistria Republic since 1992...
, Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
, at the time a part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, with his army and incurred tremendous debts with Jewish and Muslim merchants who supplied the army with equipment and provisions. On his return a large number of Muslim and Jewish creditors arrived in Sweden, and the Swedish law was altered so as to allow these immigrants to hold Jewish and Muslim services and to circumcise their sons.
After the death of Charles XII in 1718, the Swedish government was financially embarrassed for a long time, and the royal household was often relieved from pecuniary difficulties by the Jewish merchants of Stockholm, who, as a reward for their accommodations, insisted on the granting of additional privileges to themselves and their coreligionists. As a consequence the concession of 1718 was renewed, and supplemented by royal edicts of 1727, 1746, and 1748, but the permission had reference only to settlement in the smaller cities and rural communities. One of the most prominent Jews in Sweden at this time was the convert Lovisa Augusti
Lovisa Augusti
Lovisa Sofia Augusti, , was a Swedish opera singer. She was a court singer and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.- Biography :...
, who became one of the most popular singers on the Swedish stage in Stockholm.
In 1782 an ordinance was issued by which the Jews were permitted, on certain conditions, to settle anywhere in the kingdom, and to practise freely the tenets of their religion. It was, however, specified that Jews were ineligible for government positions and for election to the legislative assembly; they were, moreover, forbidden to establish schools for the propagation of their creed, and to combine with their religious services such ceremonies as might possibly cause disquietude in the minds of the general population.
Restricted to three cities
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...
, Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, or 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...
. Jews who were residents of the country prior to the promulgation of this ordinance were called upon to present their certificates of character to the proper authorities, together with a statement setting forth in which city they desired to settle and make their living. The ordinance enumerated the different trades the Jews were permitted to follow, and it stipulated also that they should apprentice their sons to Swedish tradesmen in one of the three cities mentioned above. In order to prevent the overcrowding of the mercantile field it was prescribed that no foreign-born Jew should be allowed to start in business unless he possessed at least 2,000 Swedish riksdaler
Swedish riksdaler
The 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, was named after the German Thaler. The similarly named Reichsthaler, rijksdaalder, and rigsdaler were used in Germany and Austria-Hungary, the...
in cash or negotiable securities; a native-born Jew need have only 1,000 riksdaler. Rabbis were exempt, and according to previous ordinances, poor Jews were to be deported from the country.
As to the retail business, the Jews were prohibited from selling victuals, liquor, and drugs, and they were permitted to retail their special articles of food, wine, kosher meat, matzot, etc., among themselves only. Furthermore, the Jewish retail dealer was not permitted to offer his goods for sale in markets outside the city in which he was located (permission was only given to reside in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Landskrona and Norrköping) and he was compelled to conduct his business in open shops and was forbidden to peddle from house to house or in the streets.
The Jews were allowed to establish synagogues in the above-mentioned three cities, and to keep rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s and other clerical officials. Intermarriages between Jews and Christians were forbidden. For every Jewish marriage celebrated a fee of six riksdaler was to be paid to the orphanage of the royal guards, this stipulation being intended as a compensation to the army for the exemption of the Jews from military service. In order to protect the interests of descendants of immigrant Jews the state ordered that, on the death of a Jew, the elders of the congregation should make an inventory of his estate and submit an account thereof, either to the orphans' court or to the municipal authorities. The Jews, however, had the right to appoint guardians of minors; and a rabbinical court had jurisdiction in inheritance cases. In litigations between Jews and Christians where the facts could not be established except under oath, the Jew might be ordered to take the customary Jewish oath in the synagogue in the presence of the judge. A Jew convicted of perjury became liable to expulsion from the country.
The ordinance of 1782 contained a separate clause referring to "particularly wealthy Jews, or such as are proficient in some trade almost, or quite, unknown in the country". Such persons could, through the Department of Commerce, petition the king for privileges and concessions other than those granted in the general ordinance. Jacob Marcus
Jacob Marcus
Jacob Marcus was a German-Swedish businessman and one of the pioneers in the history of Sweden's Jewish population, which began to take root around the turn of the 18th-19th centuries.Jacob Marcus's considerable impact on the history of Norrköping and his significance to...
in Norrköping was granted such privileges and built that city's first synagogue, which opened in 1796.
Reactionary decree of 1838 and afterwards
During the following years the book-market was deluged by brochures for and against the Mosaiter. This controversy between sympathizers and antagonists of the Jews continued until 1840, when the Commons in the Riksdag
Parliament of Sweden
The Riksdag is the national legislative assembly of Sweden. The riksdag is a unicameral assembly with 349 members , who are elected on a proportional basis to serve fixed terms of four years...
petitioned the government to re-establish the ordinance of 1782 in its original form. The friends of the Jews tried to show that the petitioners were actuated by religious intolerance, but their adversaries openly declared the question to be one not of religion, but of race. The anti-Semites in the Riksdag endeavoured to prove that the Jews had greatly abused the rights and privileges granted them in 1782, and that they had done so at the expense and to the detriment of the native Lutheran merchants and tradesmen. The efforts to create anti-Jewish sentiment in the Riksdag were, however, unavailing, and at a later session of that body (1853), when public opinion had turned more in favour of the Jews, they were accorded additional privileges. In 1852, Amalia Assur
Amalia Assur
Amalia Assur was the first female dentist in Sweden.Amalia Assur was the daughter of the Jewish dentist Joel Assur, "one of the first dentists in Sweden". Assur was active as her fathers assistant, and her brother was also a dentist. In 1852, she was given special permission from the Royal Board...
(1803–1889) became the first female dentist in Sweden.
During the latter half of the nineteenth century the few remaining disabilities
Disabilities (Jewish)
Disabilities were legal restrictions and limitations placed on Jews in the Middle Ages. They included provisions requiring Jews to wear specific and identifying clothing such as the Jewish hat and the yellow badge, restricting Jews to certain cities and towns or in certain parts of towns , and...
of the Jews were removed. Under the law of October 26, 1860, they were granted the right to acquire real estate in rural communities, whereas they had previously been permitted to own property in the cities only. On January 20, 1863, another ordinance removed the prohibition against intermarriages between Jews and Christians, which were declared to be legal provided they had been attended by due ceremonies. A later ordinance (October 31, 1873) stipulated that the issue of marriages between members of the Swedish state church and Jews should be brought up in the Lutheran faith. If, however, a pact concerning the religion of their future children had been made in writing by the parents before their marriage, and submitted to the clergyman or other authority that performed the marriage ceremony, such agreement should remain valid.
There were, of course, various privileges which the Jews, like any other non-Lutherans, could still not obtain as long as the then current constitution of the Swedish kingdom remained in force. Thus, they could not become members of the cabinet; nor could they, as judges or as members of committees, take part in discussions concerning religious questions. Otherwise they enjoyed the same rights and were subject to the same duties as the Swedish citizens of the Lutheran faith.
During the reign of Gustavus III (1771–1792) the Jews of Stockholm invited Levi Hirsch from Alt-Strelitz, Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, to officiate as their rabbi. The first Swedish synagogue was located at Köpmantorget
Köpmantorget
Köpmantorget is a small public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, located between the street Köpmangatan and to slopes collectively named Köpmanbrinken, both of who leads down to the street Österlånggatan...
(Merchants' Square), Stockholm, in the Sjöberg house. After a few years this place was found to be too small, and the Jews in the capital selected the old auction chamber at Tyska Brunn (German Well), where they worshiped until 1870, when the large Stockholm Synagogue
Stockholm Synagogue
The Great Synagogue of Stockholm , is located on the small street Wahrendorffsgatan close to the park Kungsträdgården on Norrmalm, Stockholm, and was built 1867-1870 according to designs made in 1862 by the architect Fredrik Wilhelm Scholander. The building has been called a "paraphrase over...
was inaugurated at Wahrendorfsgatan (Wahrendorf street). In 1905, the Jewish Encyclopedia
Jewish Encyclopedia
The Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
reported that there were synagogues in all of the larger Swedish cities in which Jews had settled in any considerable number.
According to the statistics of 1890 there were in the entire kingdom of Sweden 3,402 Jews. Since then, however, their number has been considerably augmented, and in 1905 the Jewish Encyclopedia placed the Jewish population by a "conservative estimate" at 4,000.
20th century
An Act that granted Jews equality before the law was passed in the Swedish riksdag in 1910.Between 1850 and 1920, there was a large wave of Ashkenazic immigration to Sweden from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and 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 by 1920, the Jewish population of Sweden had grown to 6,500. After the First World War, Jewish immigration was regulated, though small groups of German, Czech
History of the Jews in the Czech Republic
Jews in the Czech Republic are predominantly Ashkenazic Jews, and the current Jewish population is only a fraction of the First republic's Jewish population. As of 2005, there were approximately 4,000 Jews living in the Czech Republic. There are ten small Jewish communities all around the country...
, and Austrian
History of the Jews in Austria
The history of the Jews in Austria likely originates in an exodus of Jews from the Roman occupation of Israel. During the course of many centuries, the political status of the community rose and fell many times: during certain periods, the Jewish community prospered and enjoyed political equality,...
origin were allowed to come to Sweden.
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 Two, it helped facilitate the rescue of relatively many Jews from nearby countries: in 1942, 900 Norwegian Jews were given asylum from Nazi persecutionHolocaust 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 the United states, and declared them Swedish diplomatic facilities, thus bringing them under protection of diplomatic immunity.
On the other hand, German companies were allowed to fire Jewish employees in Sweden.
In the years after World War II, many Jewish refugees from the Baltic Countries
Baltic countries
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and 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...
moved to Sweden. For example, the cartoonist Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
was born in 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...
, where his father Vladek Spiegelman had moved after surviving a concentration-camp. In the following decades, more waves of Jewish refugees came from Hungary in 1956 and 1968 who had fled the Communist government
People's Republic of Hungary
The People's Republic of Hungary or Hungarian People's Republic was the official state name of Hungary from 1949 to 1989 during its Communist period under the guidance of the Soviet Union. The state remained in existence until 1989 when opposition forces consolidated in forcing the regime to...
. More refugees came then from Poland between 1968-1970. Between 1945 and 1970, the Jewish population of Sweden doubled.
Contemporary Jewish population of Sweden
There is no ethnic registration in Sweden, so the Jewish population can only be roughly estimated. The Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities estimation is that about 20,000 pass the halakhic criteria. Of those about 7,000 is a member of any congregation. Stockholm has the largest community and boasts a primary school, kindergarten, library, a bi-monthly publication (Judisk KrönikaJudisk Krönika
Judisk Krönika is a Jewish magazine based in Stockholm, Sweden. Published on a bimonthly basis with six issues a year, the magazine had a circulation of around 6,500 copies in 2000. Editor in chief since 1980 is Jackie Jakubowski....
) and a weekly Jewish radio program, but 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...
, Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Borås
Borås
Borås is a locality and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 63,441 inhabitants in 2005.- Geography :Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the railway between Gothenburg and Kalmar, and is often considered the Swedish city gaining the...
, Helsingborg
Helsingborg
Helsingborg is a city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 97,122 inhabitants in 2010. Helsingborg is the centre of an area in the Øresund region of about 320,000 inhabitants in north-west Scania, and is Sweden's closest point to Denmark, with the Danish city...
, Lund
Lund
-Main sights:During the 12th and 13th centuries, when the town was the seat of the archbishop, many churches and monasteries were built. At its peak, Lund had 27 churches, but most of them were demolished as result of the Reformation in 1536. Several medieval buildings remain, including Lund...
, and Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
all have Jewish communities as well. Synagogues can be found in Stockholm (which has 2 Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
and 1 Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
temple), Göteborg (an Orthodox and a Conservative synagogue), Malmö (an Orthodox synagogue) and in 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...
(although the Norrköping community is too small to perform regular services).
Increasing Anti-Semitism
In October 2010, The ForwardThe Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
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 he 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.”
Malmö and Mayor Reepalu
In an article published in The Forward in October 2010, Judith Popinski, and 86-year-old Holocaust survivor, stated 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.”
Controversy around Ilmar Reepalu, Social Democratic Mayor of Malmö
Swedish newspapers and political leaders as well as Israeli media have criticised Malmö's mayor, 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...
(a Social Democrat), for repeatedly "explaining" anti-Jewish incidents as reactions to Israel's policy towards Palestinian arabs.
Ilmar Reepalu, Malmo's mayor, drew criticism in January 2010 for his statements that “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."
In early 2010, the Swedish publication The Local published series of articles about the growing anti-Semitism in Malmö, Sweden. In an interview in January 2010, Fredrik Sieradzki of the Jewish Community of Malmö stated that “Threats against Jews have increased steadily in Malmö in recent years and many young Jewish families are choosing to leave the city. Many feel that the community and local politicians have shown a lack of understanding for how the city’s Jewish residents have been marginalized.” He also added that "right now many Jews in Malmö are really concerned about the situation here and don’t believe they have a future here.” The Local also reported that Jewish cemeteries and synagogues have repeatedly been defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti, and a chapel at another Jewish burial site in Malmö was firebombed in 2009.
Ilmar Reepalu, Malmo's mayor, has denied that there had been any attacks on Jews in the city despite police figures showing that violent incidents 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."
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 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 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.
Aftonbladet's "The Hunt for Reepalu"
The Reepalu controversy was addressed by a signed editorial
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
, "The Hunt for Reepalu", that was published in the independent social democratic tabloid Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
. The editorial was written by Kennet Andreasson, who is an editor of Aftonbladet. Andreasson stated that he "had no reason to believe that Reepalu is a Jew-hater --- ignorant, perhaps, unaware of the historical chains of thought-figures that lead to antisemtism, possibly --- but mostly naive and honest---and stressed." The characterization the reporter at Skånska Dagbladet made, portraying Reepalu as more interested in talking about Israels aggressive politics then the problems at hand was unfair he continued. "Anyone who listens to the questions and answers get a more nuanced picture. More than anything, Reepalu talks about fighting racism wherever it appears and whomever it is directed at. He emphasizes, more than one time, that international politics should not be drawn into local politics." It could have ended with the Reepalus op-ed for Sydsvenska Dagbladet on January 30 where Reepalu called it "totally unacceptable" to make Malmö's Jews responsible for what happens in Israel, Andreassson observed. "When this did not happened Reepalu should put an end to it now by swallowing the condemnations. Then he is entitled to his own condemnation of the Israeli atrocities in Gaza. Those who have stood for the blame, in the main driven by zeal for sanitation of antisemitism, at times self-righteousness have been scent, are likely to agree. For it must be possible to express this criticism without being automatically accused of Jew-hating, something that often occurs. To make a hard criticism against the war effort, against the government-conducted murders, against the wall, against the settlements --- these criticism are very much justifiable --- and legitimate and morally and politically respectable."
Status of Yiddish in Sweden
The waves of AshkenazicAshkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
immigration to Sweden also brought the Yiddish language
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
, the predominant language among Eastern European Jews. Yiddish is an officially recognized, non-territorial minority language
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 ....
in Sweden. Like in all of Europe, the usage of Yiddish has declined in the Jewish community, but 3,000 Swedish Jews have a command of the language, and attempts are being made to revive it in some congregations. The organization Sällskapet för Jiddisch och Jiddischkultur i Sverige (Society for Yiddish and Yiddish Culture in Sweden) has over 200 members, many of whom are mother-tongue Yiddish speakers, and arranges regular activities for the speech community and in external advocacy of the Yiddish language.