Jewish center in Sweden closes after wave of anti-Semitic threats

Explaining its decision to close, the spokesperson for the Jewish Association of Umeå said, “It’s not possible to operate if people are scared.”

A Jewish community center located in northern Sweden has decided to close its doors against the backdrop of threats and security concerns, according to report in a Swedish English-language outlet, The Local.

“Too many things have happened lately, which means that Jewish parents don’t feel safe having their kids at the schools,” The Local quoted the Jewish Association of Umeå’s spokesperson Carinne Sjöberg as saying.

“Our children shouldn’t need to live in a world where they have to be ashamed for what they are, but it’s not possible to operate if people are scared.”

The threats leveled against the Jewish Association have largely come via threatening e-mails. Additionally, its buildings were vandalized with numerous swastika stickers and included the message, “we know where you live,” plastered onto its buildings.

The Association’s decision on Sunday was a unanimous one that not only closes the building, but also ends the association’s activities.

Sweden has faced an uptick in anti-Semitism, as have many other countries in Europe, while also experiencing a jump in rioting from Muslim immigrants and refugees. US President Donald Trump has received criticism for suggesting a correlation between both statistics.

Meanwhile, investigators and authorities in the US and Israel were stunned to discover that the suspect behind the wave of threats against Jewish Community Centers throughout the US and Canada was an American-Israeli Jew. In that light, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer defended Trump’s suggestion weeks earlier that those on the right end of the political spectrum were being unjustifiably blamed for the bomb threats.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

anti-SemitismJCCSweden