Wiesenthal Center on Malmö: Jews Must Exercise “Extreme Caution"

In his speech to the recent European gathering of European Muslim and Jewish Leaders in Brussels earlier this month, European Jewish Congress President Dr. Moshe Kantor outlined necessary actions to be taken to create a more tolerant Europe. Kantor stated that strong measures—beyond the current legal framework—must prevail against “hate, racism and xenophobia”.

In a meeting with President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, Kantor particularly singled out Malmö as a community where Jews are under such continual pressure that they are moving out.

-       “If Jews are being driven out of parts of Europe once again, this does not bode well for the future of the continent…if the Jews, whose presence in Europe stretches back almost 3,000 years can not feel safe then the new Europe has failed us.”

Well, another confirmation of Malmö’s role as the anti-Semitism capital of Europe was issued yesterday in the form of a travel warning for Jews to use extreme caution when travelling in  Malmö. Top officials of the SWC,  Rabbi Abraham Cooper and Dr. Shimon Samuels conveyed the message directly to Sweden’s Justice Minister Beatrice Ask:

“We reluctantly are issuing this advisory because religious Jews and other members of the Jewish community there have been subject to anti-Semitic taunts and harassment. There have been dozens of incidents reported to the authorities but have not resulted in arrests or convictions for hate crimes”, he added. “A contributing factor to this decision has been the outrageous remarks of Malmo mayor Ilmar Reepalu, who blames the Jewish community for failing to denounce Israel.  The travel advisory urges extreme caution when visiting southern Sweden. It is not connected to last week’s Islamist terrorist bombing in the heart of Stockholm.”

It should be noted that the Swedish Minister of Justice is already familiar with these issues as we reported in March and April of this year. Reepalu had claimed that he could not “legally” aid the Jewish community with security assistance as the members of the small Jewish community struggle to meet the staggering necessary expenses for security at Jewish community premises. It is obvious that the private security is necessary because the local authorities fail to maintain a livable level of public security.

-       “Dr. Samuels urged Sweden to strengthen the security of all Jewish institutions, adding ‘It is unacceptable in a democracy committed to protecting its citizens, that the Swedish Jewish community is forced to pay for necessary upgraded security measures to safeguard their lives and property’. “

Reepalu basically threw the security problem to the national government, asking for them to handle the situation which he could not be bothered with. Beatrice Ask threw the ball back into Reepalu’s court, noting that Malmö had already received additional security funding from the national government.  And, in the meantime, nothing is being done to change the situation in Malmö, which is continuing to deteriorate.

And, as of the writing of this post, none of the major Swedish dailies have mentioned the SWC’s travel advisory. An online check of Aftonbladet, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, and the Local came up with no reference whatsoever to the advisory.

So, there you have it. Malmö has now reached iconic status as the exemplar of a city edging toward “Judenrein” status. But so far the government and the liberal press have decided to ignore what is happening under their noses. You can ignore a problem, but it won’t go away. The SWC disavowed the timing as linked to the Stockholm bombing for the advisory, but there is a linkage. The same liberal Swedish ideology that sympathizes with extremists will end with two separate but related results: persecution of the Jewish population, and local terror.  You can be as liberal as you want, but justifying anti-Semitism and the wanton murder of citizens in the streets is not liberalism—it’s hatred and self-destruction.

Sweden’s policy of misguided sympathies and wishful thinking—which could be described as “be complicit with the illicit and you won’t get hit” –has hit the fan in the reality check. Swedish support for terror-linked organizations has not provided immunity against terror in Sweden’s streets. And as far as Malmö goes, unless the city begins to handle the problem of anti-Semitism, things will only continue to get worse—for Jews and for the rest of the population.

 By: Chanah Shapira