The Sweden–Israel Friendship Association is a Swedish

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....

-based organization which describes its purpose as to "establish and increase knowledge about – and the understanding of – Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 in Sweden, and in different ways work to strengthen Swedish–Israeli bonds of friendship."http://www.sverigeisrael.org/wb/

The Sweden–Israel Friendship Association established its first local branch 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...

 in 1953. The founding was marked with an appeal written by Hugo Valentin

Hugo Valentin

Hugo Valentin was a Swedish historian and scholar. He was a professor of history at Gothenburg University. He is known, to scholars of Antisemitism, for his significant work which was translated into English from Swedish and published in 1937....

, a professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 at Gothenburg University

Gothenburg University

The University of Gothenburg is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg.- Character :The University of Gothenburg is the third-oldest Swedish university, and with 24,900 full-time students it is also among the largest universities in the Nordic countries...

, in the Swedish parliament

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...

 building on May 8. In 1954 local branches were also established in 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...

 and 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...

. The nationwide association was established in 1978.

The association currently comprises 26 local branches with about 3,000 members. The current chairman of the association is Gunnar Hökmark

Gunnar Hökmark

Anders Gunnar Hökmark is a Swedish politician and Member of the European Parliament for the Moderate Party; part of the European People's Party....

, a member

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 of the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 for the Moderate Party

Moderate Party

The Moderate Party is a centre-right, liberal conservative political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1904 as the General Electoral League by a group of conservatives in the Swedish parliament...

.

See also

• Foreign relations of Israel
  Foreign relations of Israel
  The foreign relations of Israel refers to diplomatic relations and international agreements between the State of Israel and other countries around the world. Israel joined the United Nations on May 11, 1949. Israel has diplomatic relations with 157 states...
  
  
• Foreign relations of Sweden
  Foreign relations of Sweden
  The foreign policy of Sweden is based on the premise that national security is best served by staying free of alliances in peacetime in order to remain a neutral country in the event of war. In 2002, Sweden revised its security doctrine...
  
  
• International recognition of Israel
  International recognition of Israel
  The recognition of Israel in the international community remains an outstanding issue of the Arab–Israeli conflict. Pursuant to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, which provided for the establishment of a Jewish state, Israel declared its independence at midnight on 14 May 1948...
  
  
• Israel–Sweden relations
  Israel–Sweden relations
  Israel–Sweden relations refers to the bilateral relations between Israel and Sweden.- History :Sweden voted in favor of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, which lead to the creation of the State of Israel. Relations between Sweden and Israel were good during the 1950s and...