Thursday, January 28, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Erik Johansson in the comments points to an interview with the mayor of Malmo, Sweden, Ilmar Reepalu, where he says, "We don't accept either Zionism nor antisemitism. They are both extremes that pose them selves above other groups and regard those [groups] as inferior."
And in response to a pro-Israel demonstration, he stated "I would have wished for the Jewish congregation [in Malmo] to take a stand against Israel's violations of the civilian population of Gaza. Instead they choose to hold a demonstration at Stortorget [a big square in Malmo] that could send the wrong signal."
In other words, Jews who support Israel are almost a legitimate target for anti-semitism.
The rest of the article points out how bad things are in this liberal enclave of Malmo. The mayor is asked about his opinion of Jews who feel so threatened by Arab and leftist violence that they are considering fleeing the city (the mayor is dismayed), and about Jewish children being harassed in schools (the mayor says this is a school matter.)
To the question mentioning that synagogues in Malmo are forced to hire their ownsecurity firms, the mayor responded that he has had swastikas painted on his apartment door as well and thatthe Right is responsible. The interviewer mentions that the Jews believe that extreme Left and Muslims are responsible for their harassment, and the mayor disagreed.
From other articles in the same newspaper, it appears that Jews in Malmo are in serious fear, and that the mayor's attitude is encouraging this. This article mentions how even blonde Jews are afraid, how Jews are hiding any public signs of their Jewishness, how the Jewish cemetery was firebombed, how that pro-Israel demonstration in the town square was met with eggs, bottles and firecrackers - while the police looked on.
A Jewish soccer team does not dare to play away games because of verbal and physical violence against them. Angry Jew-hating fans stormed the field last August forcing the players to retreat.
This article is about a Jewish family moving to Israel specifically because of the anti-semitism in Malmo.
Here are a number of incidents where Jewish students are harassed in schools, including a young man who was threatened with "Halal slaughter."
Anti-semitic crime doubled in the city in the past year, to 79 incidents,and most are probably not reported.
Things are in a really bad way in Sweden, and the attitude of the mayor is clearly not helping the Jewish community there in the least.
And in response to a pro-Israel demonstration, he stated "I would have wished for the Jewish congregation [in Malmo] to take a stand against Israel's violations of the civilian population of Gaza. Instead they choose to hold a demonstration at Stortorget [a big square in Malmo] that could send the wrong signal."
In other words, Jews who support Israel are almost a legitimate target for anti-semitism.
The rest of the article points out how bad things are in this liberal enclave of Malmo. The mayor is asked about his opinion of Jews who feel so threatened by Arab and leftist violence that they are considering fleeing the city (the mayor is dismayed), and about Jewish children being harassed in schools (the mayor says this is a school matter.)
To the question mentioning that synagogues in Malmo are forced to hire their ownsecurity firms, the mayor responded that he has had swastikas painted on his apartment door as well and thatthe Right is responsible. The interviewer mentions that the Jews believe that extreme Left and Muslims are responsible for their harassment, and the mayor disagreed.
From other articles in the same newspaper, it appears that Jews in Malmo are in serious fear, and that the mayor's attitude is encouraging this. This article mentions how even blonde Jews are afraid, how Jews are hiding any public signs of their Jewishness, how the Jewish cemetery was firebombed, how that pro-Israel demonstration in the town square was met with eggs, bottles and firecrackers - while the police looked on.
A Jewish soccer team does not dare to play away games because of verbal and physical violence against them. Angry Jew-hating fans stormed the field last August forcing the players to retreat.
This article is about a Jewish family moving to Israel specifically because of the anti-semitism in Malmo.
Here are a number of incidents where Jewish students are harassed in schools, including a young man who was threatened with "Halal slaughter."
Anti-semitic crime doubled in the city in the past year, to 79 incidents,and most are probably not reported.
Things are in a really bad way in Sweden, and the attitude of the mayor is clearly not helping the Jewish community there in the least.
