US-based Jewish rights group Simon Wiesenthal Center has criticized Sweden for not doing enough to protect the Jewish community of Malmoe following a string of crimes against Jews in the southern Swedish town.
During a week-long fact-finding mission to Sweden, senior officials of the center urged in a series of meetings in Stockholm and Malmoe, that the government take over the onerous cost of protecting lives and communal institutions.
The group blasted Swedish authorities for making the community pay the equivalent of a "Jewish tax," since they themselves had to foot the bill for most security measures, including setting up anti-attack barriers in front of the synagogue during religious celebrations.
"It is long overdue that the Swedish authorities assume the costs of the security of the Jewish institutions, especially in a community of 800 people that's been suffering from incidents," Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the centre's associate dean, told AFP.
"Sweden intelligence has identified over 400 Islamist radicals and Neo-Nazis," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean. "Coupled with global threats from 'lone wolf' operatives, Jews in Malmoe are a primary target for hate crimes and terrorists."
The Center's call followed meetings with key political, Jewish and Muslim and top law enforcement officials in the Southern city of Malmo, after a spate of anti-Semitic incidents were ignored.
These incidents included numerous harassments and intimidation of Rabbi Schneur Kesselman and other members of the Jewish community. As a result, the Wiesenthal Center imposed a 'travel advisory' on Sweden's third largest city in December 2010.
"I told Mayor Ilmar Reepalu, during our hour-long meeting at City Hall that the status quo is intolerable," said Dr. Shimon Samuels, the Center's Director of International Relations. “Unless you take the lead in providing protection for all your citizens, the travel advisory will remain in force," he added.
A spokesman for European Affairs Minister Birgitta Ohlsson, who met with Cooper in Stockholm Tuesday, told AFP that "discussions" were going on within the government about the issue, but would not provide further details.
Malmoe, which is Sweden's third largest city with a population of around 300,000, is home to some 800 Jews, alongside a large, mainly Muslim, immigrant community.
Several Jewish families have left the Swedish city in recent years due to the threatening atmosphere, according to local Jewish representatives.
In December, shortly after Stockholm suffered its first-ever suicide bombing, the Wiesenthal Centre issued a rare warning, cautioning Jews to avoid traveling to Malmoe and telling the ones already there to be very careful.
Referring to numerous instances of harassment against people who are visibly Jewish, Cooper asked "How could that happen?"
"In a country that rescued the Jews coming from Denmark during World War II, how come a rabbi can (no longer) go to the synagogue with his two children?"
In early 2009, a Davis Cup tennis match in Malmoe between Sweden and Israel was forced to play behind closed doors due to security concerns amid massive ant-Israeli protests over the Gaza war.
Malmoe mayor Ilmar Reepalu has also faced harsh criticism for not takingthe threat against the city's Jewish community seriously enough and for comparing Zionism to anti-Semitism.
After meeting with Cooper Monday, he stressed to the TT news agency that he in no way was making light of the situation.
"Every single Jew who feels fearful and afraid is one too many. This is completely unacceptable," he said, adding that it was up to the nationalgovernment to provide more funds for addressing the problem.
"I really hope that the state will prioritize Malmoe in this matter," he said.