Rising antisemitism in Europe

The Jewish population in Sweden has been assimilated and 'Swedish' for hundreds of years; today many feel a constant threat. 

  • Stockholm Holocaust Memorial. Photo courtesy of pntphoto/Pavel Trebukov via Creative Commons license
  • In response to the fear of rising anti-semitism, Jewish parents all over Europe are being cautious about what they allow their children to do. Although Swedish police officers armed with machine guns have been stationed outside synagogues and Jewish schools in the wake of the attacks in Paris and Copenhagen, Jewish citizens’ safety can’t be ensured everywhere. Considered by some in Europe to be “the worst time for Jews since the Holocaust,” the circumstances have cast a pall over Sweden as questions rise about what the future holds for them. After receiving information from the police that their children’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed, so many parents decided not to let their children attend the annual winter holiday camp for 8- to 15-year-old Jewish kids in February, that the camp had to close.
    Here is what we wrote in 2010: 'J'accuse 2.0' .. on certain unsavory aspects of modern Swedish society