Sweden Democrats clash with PM over support for anti-Semitism watchdog

Published 24 October 2024
- By Editorial Staff
Ulf Kristersson and Jimmie ร…kesson are in deep disagreement over the Swedish Committee Against Anti-Semitism.

Recently, several members of the Sweden Democrats’ leadership said that they considered the lobby group Swedish Committee Against Anti-Semitism, SKMA, to be a deeply dishonest organisation, driven by a political agenda and whose “activities are largely aimed at forming opinions” against the party.

However, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson promised that he had full confidence in SKMA and described its activities as “incredibly important”.

In a debate contribution, representatives of the Sweden Democrats noted that SKMA did not seem to focus primarily on combating alleged anti-Semitism, but rather on opposing the Sweden Democrats and the Tidö parties in various ways and influencing Swedish politics.

In light of this, we hereby declare that from now on we regard SKMA as a political actor… It is therefore entirely appropriate to refer to their opinions as ‘party contributions’. What the SKMA expresses in various contexts we thus value on the same level as if it were any political opponent”.

“No one – especially not representatives of the current government – has any reason whatsoever to take this organisation seriously”, they wrote.

Promises continued funding

But Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson disagrees, saying that SKMA is an “incredibly important” organisation that “makes a very important contribution in Sweden”.

– In these times we have now, with a lot of anti-Semitism running rampant, not least in the wake of conflicts in the Middle East, it is an incredibly important task, he continues.

He also promises that Swedish taxpayers will continue to fund the lobby organisation’s activities and that the flow of money will not be affected by the SD’s announcement.

Kristersson also declined to comment on the criticism against the organisation, saying he “hasn’t read it exactly”.

It is a politically independent organisation that makes important efforts to counteract anti-Semitism, he says.

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