Israel’s bloody invasion and bombardment of Gaza is widely seen as having led to an increase in “anti-Semitic” statements and actions in the West. On Wednesday, Swedish ministers and party leaders took part in a “kippah walk” to show their support for the Jewish people.
– We are here today to show support for Sweden’s Jews – it is legitimate to disagree about conflicts there, but not to spread anti-Semitism here, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) said in a speech.
Nine ministers also took part in the march, and the only party leader who apparently did not attend was Jimmie Åkesson of the Sweden Democrats. However, it is unclear whether Åkesson chose not to participate or whether he was not invited by the Parliamentary Network against Anti-Semitism, which organized the march.
Ulf Kristersson also gave a speech in which he condemned “the crude and blatant anti-Semitism” that he said Sweden has suffered in recent months.
– It must be confronted and combated, he declared.
– The development that we have seen both in Europe and in Sweden since the terrorist attack on October 7, I and the government will never accept, the prime minister continued.
Under onsdagen gick flera ministrar och partiledare i en kippavandring genom centrala Stockholm för att visa sitt stöd till det judiska folket. Vandringen arrangeras av riksdagens nätverk mot antisemitism.https://t.co/Fobm6RuKIFhttps://t.co/ETMzvU6SRm pic.twitter.com/HLCpocCCBX
— Svenska Epoch Times (@EpochTimesSWE) December 6, 2023
Calls for “zero tolerance”
Kristersson also promised to focus very actively on combating the alleged widespread anti-Semitism in Sweden, to pay more attention to Jewish culture and to “strengthen the knowledge of our Jewish minority”.
– My call to all Swedes is simple: Show your own zero tolerance for anti-Semitism. Do your part, while leaders in parties, communities, businesses, educational institutions and civil society do theirs.
The government and Ulf Kristersson have previously been heavily criticized for consistently refusing to distance themselves from Israel’s invasion and bombing of Gaza, which has led to the deaths of thousands of children. Instead, they claim that Israel’s retaliation was “proportionate”.
The kippah is a form of headgear commonly worn by Jewish men in synagogues.
