Israel: Sweden Democrats must apologise for the Holocaust

Israel is now demanding that the Sweden Democrats (SD) apologise for the party’s ‘historical links to anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial’.

The demand was made by Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman, who believes that such an apology is an important gesture to promote reconciliation and a prerequisite for a more open dialogue between the Sweden Democrats and the Jewish state.

In an interview with Schibsted-owned Aftonbladet’s political editor Anders Lindberg, Israel’s ambassador Kulman clarifies that Tel Aviv’s official stance on the Sweden Democrats remains unchanged: the Israeli government will have no cooperation whatsoever with the anti-immigration Swedish party.

In the interview, the ambassador says that while the Sweden Democrats have repeatedly shown their support for Israel on issues related to the Middle East conflict, concerns remain about the party’s background.

According to Kulman, an official apology from the SD would show “a willingness to acknowledge historical mistakes”.

– Our policy towards far-right parties with Nazi roots has not changed, he says.

The Sweden Democrats have long worked to distance themselves from their alleged anti-Semitic history, and the party now has a number of representatives who are very vocal in their support for Israel and the Jewish diaspora at every opportunity.

This was particularly evident in May 2024, when the party’s Alexander Christiansson knelt down in front of a group of Jewish settlers at the annual Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast event.

SD Alexander Christiansson på besök i Israel. Vad är detta för Pajaserier? https://t.co/swmmtzYZHJ

— Herzlich von Rystekvast (@henryrystekvist) September 23, 2024

“Must fight antisemitism”

The Israeli side stresses that its relations with the SD will remain reserved until an apology and concrete measures are taken.

– But (the SD) definitely needs to do a lot of soul-searching about its own past. They need to apologise for everything they did, to the victims of the Holocaust and to the memory of the Holocaust, and they definitely need to think about a future where they do more to fight anti-Semitism. It’s a long process, says Kulman.

Israel’s demands have provoked reactions in Swedish politics, not least from representatives of the Sweden Democrats themselves. The party’s MP, Josef Fransson, was highly critical in a post on X.

Men vad är det här för dynga? Är det SD som juridisk person som ska be om ursäkt för vad en minoritet medlemmar tyckte eller gjorde för 30 år sedan? För om det är den juridiska personen som förväntas be om ursäkt kan det vara värt att påtalat att det aldrig funnits någon… pic.twitter.com/HFSRjUkG5u

— Josef Fransson (@FranssonJosef) November 8, 2024

English translation of above tweet: But what is this nonsense? Is it the SD as a legal entity that should apologise for what a minority of members thought or did 30 years ago? Because if it is the legal entity that should apologise, it might be worth pointing out that there never was one…

Several opinion leaders have raised the question of whether a modern political party should have to answer for its history when the party has explicitly distanced itself from past positions and is actively working for a different agenda today.

The leadership of the Sweden Democrats has not yet responded directly to this demand, but the party has on several occasions emphasised its support for Israel and its wars in the region.