Swedish Jews, particularly those who reside in Malmo—the
country’s third-largest city—are growing concerned over an increasing number of
anti-Semitic incidents, many perpetrated by “young men with roots in the Middle
East,” said Jehoshua Kaufman, a member of the city’s Jewish congregation.
The synagogue in Malmoe, Sweden. The city's Jewish community
is growing concerned over increased anti-Semitic incidents it says are
perpetrated mainly by Muslim immigrants. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.
About one-third of Malmo’s 310,000 residents were born
abroad, including many in the Middle East.
There are about 2,000 Jews in the
city. Sixty-six anti-Semitic incidents were reported in Malmo in 2012,
according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention.
About halfway
through 2013, there have been 35 reports of anti-Semitic incidents. In all of
2010 and 2011 combined, there were 44 such incidents reported.
Malmo police
said the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Malmo is twice as large as the
number in Stockholm, whose population is three times as large.
Although there are other types of right-wing extremism in
Sweden besides for radical Islam, in Malmo it is “the young Muslim guys that
are the problem,” said Barbro Posner, a member of city’s Jewish community,
according to Israel National News.
“[Muslims behind anti-Semitic incidents in Malmo] come from
countries where there are racist, anti-Semitic TV programs,” Posner said.
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