Last year in Malmö, the number of hate crimes against Jews quadrupled in comparison with the preceding year. The grim figures are especially surprising given that, as is usual with hate crimes, many victims do not dare to report them out of fear that doing so might bring on further harassment. As the same time that this is happening, the city’s leading politician, Social Democrat Ilmar Reepalu, maintains that there have been no attacks on Jews and that if Jews wish to leave Malmö for Israel it is not the city’s concern.
One is tempted to pinch oneself in the arm in hopes of waking up from all this. The situation I am describing is that of Sweden in the year 2010, yet the odor of 1930s Germany lingers in Reepalu’s words: there have been no attacks on Jews.
That the harassment of Malmö’s Jews is principally the work of Muslims is a source of bewilderment for Swedish politics, which is fixated on, first, ethnicizing conflicts and then assuming the perspective of the victimized minority. At best, the anti-racist groups blind themselves to the current reality, and at worst they choose instead to take on the alleged enemy known as Islamophobia.
That there is Muslim anti-Semitism in our country should not surprise anyone – not even the sleepy Social Democrats – but Reepalu’s words give it a tacit approval, and for this reason Swedish politicians share the blame for these atrocities which are an offense against individuals as well as aganst our civilized society.
Malmö’s politicians should stand up for the Jewish minority whose numbers are lower than those of the Muslim street terrorists and should defend them. There are about 1500 Jews in Malmö and (one hopes) an equal number of friends of Israel. There are hundreds of thousands of people in Malmö with Muslim or Arabic backgrounds. . . . . . . .
