Swedish Politician Wears Star of David During Debate To Highlight Antisemitism

The leader of Sweden’s Liberal Party, Simona Mohamsson, is hoping to highlight antisemitism in Sweden by wearing a Star of David around her neck ahead of September national elections.“I wear the Star of David for the children who do not dare to in today’s Sweden,” Ms. Mohamasson reportedly said during a debate Monday involving party leaders. She accused the Left Party of supporting jailed Palestinians who killed Israelis in terror attacks.“I think the Left Party needs to be held accountable for sending love letters to Hamas and spreading fear on our streets,” Ms. Mohamasson added.The center-right Liberals have been warning that threats against Jews have increased against Jews in Sweden and become more visible. A European Commission report published in February found that 73 percent of respondents in Sweden said antisemitism was a problem in the country with the situation worsening in the post-October 7 environment.The party says Islamism and right-wing extremism are currently the single greatest threats to Jewish congregations and organizations in Sweden. “The consequence of this is that Jews in Sweden are restricting their lives,” the party warned in March. “Synagogues need to be guarded, schools are strengthening their security and people are hesitant to wear religious symbols openly. This is not acceptable.”The Liberals called for the strengthening of security for the Jewish minority. Ms. Mohamsson is also the government’s minister of education and has offered government grants for Jewish studies in schools with the aim of strengthening Jewish life and culture. In the spring the government proposed giving the Jewish Central Council 9 million kronor to strengthen security.The Swedish government does not track the religion of its residents but Pew Research estimates that Syrian war refugees have grown the nation’s Muslim population from virtually nothing in the mid-20th century to an estimated 8 percent of the overall 10.6 million population in 2020.“Sweden has taken in the highest number of migrants in western Europe as a percentage of population. Most immigrants come from Muslim countries where societies are permeated by extreme antisemitic prejudices,” Israeli scholar Manfred Gerstenfeld has written. “Sweden can thus be characterized as a major importer of antisemites out of humanitarian motives,” Mr. Gerstenfeld added.Ms. Mohamsson announced last October an investigation into the “Islamist infiltration” of Swedish society and a possible network of the Muslim Brotherhood to exert growing influence over politics and some institutions. “Islamism doesn’t want constitutions, it wants sharia. It doesn’t want integration, but separation. It wants men to control women and to dictate who may love whom,” Ms. Mohamsson said, according to reporting at the time.Ms. Mohamsson was born in Germany and her family relocated to Sweden when she was eight. Her father is of Palestinian descent and mother is Lebanese. They changed their surname from Mohammed to Mohamsson when they moved to Sweden. Ms. Mohamsson has said that immigrants have a responsibility to integrate into Swedish society. The Liberals are a junior partner in the center-right coalition with the Moderate Party and the Christian Democrats that control the government with help from far-right Sweden Democrats. The opposition coalition holds a double-digit lead ahead of the September 13 election according to a poll released Tuesday by the public broadcaster SVT. Four left-leaning parties had a combined 53.9 percent showing in the poll, and could give them a majority of seats in the Swedish parliament. The Liberals are currently in jeopardy of falling below the 4 percent threshold to hold seats in the parliament.

Swedish Politician Wears Star of David During Debate To Highlight Antisemitism

Swedish Politician Wears Star of David During Debate To Highlight Antisemitism

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