Eurabia is a Place Called Malmö

About a month ago, Daniel Schwammenthal wrote an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “Eurabia is a Place in Sweden” that talked about the problems the city of Malmö faces when dealing with its large Muslim population. The term “Eurabia” has, according to Schwammental, become a reality in Malmö as “roughly 20% of Malmö's 290,000 residents are of Muslim, mostly Arab, origin.” This, he argues, “together with traditional Swedish anti-Zionism—the result of the left's ideological supremacy here—form an explosive cocktail”.

In Schwammethal’s article one can, as I continuously mention in this blog, find information about the unbearable situation  that today drives many of the Jewish residents away from Malmö as well as the inadequate response  by the city’s mayor. Schwammenthal also highlights the participation of several leading Swedish Social democrats such as Mona Sahlin who participated in anti-Israeli rallies last year where “where the Jewish state's flag was burned while those of Hamas and Hezbollah were waved”. He also gives the example of vice chair for the Social Democratic Women's organization in southern Sweden, Ingalill Bjartén (Social Democrat), who stated "I think Gaza is comparable to the Warsaw Ghetto,"

According to Schwammenthal “This sort of demonization of Israel and Israelis—which meets the European Union's own definition of anti-Semitism—is increasingly common across the Continent.” A clear-cut case is Malmö.

Yesterday, also the British Guardian decided to run Associated Press writer Richard Steed’s report on the story of Malmö and Marcus Eilenberg. Malmö Jew Marcus Eileberg stated in an interview with Swedish newspaper Skånskan at the end of January that the hatred against Jews in Malmö has led him and some 15 other Jews to leave Malmö.  His reason, as can be read in the Guardian yesterday, “is a rise in hate crimes against Jews in Malmo, and a sense that local authorities have little desire to deal with a problem that has exposed a crack in Sweden's image as a bastion of tolerance and a haven for distressed ethnic groups.”

According to Richard Steed’s report, it was previously believed that the aggression against Jews came from the extreme right. But as can be seen in Steed’s interview with Malmö Rabbi Shneur Kesselman this is not the case. Kesselman instead argues "In the past five years I've been here, I think you can count on your hand how many incidents there have been from the extreme right. In my personal experience it's 99 percent Muslims."

While Rabbi Kesselman has reported some 10 anti-Semitic hate crimes during last year, a typical situation according to him is; "walking in the streets and a car with Muslim youth between 18 and 30 will roll down the window and yell '(expletive) Jew,' give me the finger and shout something in Arabic".

On of the reasons for the increased hate crimes against the Jews in Malmö, according Susanne Gosenius, a hate crimes investigator at Malmo's police department, seems to be that individuals in Malmö originating from the Middle East can’t distinguish between Jews in Malmö and the state of Israel. It is noted in Steed’s report which was published in the Guardian that some 7 percent of Malmö’s 285,000 residents were born in the Middle East.

The reality in Malmö is that there is a major problem with Muslim immigrants. This is something that the city of Malmö has failed to acknowledge and which now has led many of the city’s Jewish residents to leave. While the Jews often seem to be the first ones to take a blow they will most probably not be the last to suffer the consequences of the rapidly growing and segregated Muslim population in Malmö. This leaves on to wonder, does Mayor Reepalu really want to be Mayor of Malmö or of Eurabia?