Two violent anti-Jewish incidents were recorded in Sweden in 2000, one during a pro-Palestinian demonstration following the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada. There was much less violent racist activity than in 1999, but the public debate and official initiatives in 2000 were influenced by the events of that year. Sweden remains one of the world’s largest producers of White Power music, race hate videos and CDs, and neo-Nazi skinhead merchandise. THE JEWISH COMMUNITY Sweden has a Jewish population of about 18,000 out of a general population of 8.9 million. The majority, approximately 10,000, belong to the major communities in Stockholm, Göteburg and Malmö. Smaller Jewish communities can be found in Boras, Uppsala, Norrköping and Helsingborg. The various communities are independent, but linked through the Council of Swedish Jewish Communities.
Several of the major international Jewish organizations have affiliates in Sweden. A Stockholm-based magazine, Jewish Chronicle, appears bi-monthly, as well as Tachless, the magazine of the Jewish Congregation. Shechita (Jewish ritual slaughter) is prohibited and kosher meat is imported from abroad.
By hosting the January 2000 Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, attended by forty-five heads of state, who declared that the Holocaust “challenged the foundations of civilization,” Sweden became a leading force for raising awareness of the Shoah. Its Living History Project has become a model of Holocaust education. As an outcome of that parley, plans were announced to establish the European Institute of Jewish Studies in Sweden, Paideia. In January 2001, Stockholm was the venue for the Second International Forum for Combating Intolerance, which had as its goal “counteracting and preventing xenophobia, racism, antisemitism and other extremist ideas and movements.”
Two violent anti-Jewish incidents were recorded in Sweden in 2000, one during a pro-Palestinian demonstration following the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada. There was much less violent racist activity than in 1999, but the public debate and official initiatives in 2000 were influenced by the events of that year. Sweden remains one of the world’s largest producers of White Power music, race hate videos and CDs, and neo-Nazi skinhead merchandise. THE JEWISH COMMUNITY Sweden has a Jewish population of about 18,000 out of a general population of 8.9 million. The majority, approximately 10,000, belong to the major communities in Stockholm, Göteburg and Malmö. Smaller Jewish communities can be found in Boras, Uppsala, Norrköping and Helsingborg. The various communities are independent, but linked through the Council of Swedish Jewish Communities. Several of the major international Jewish organizations have affiliates in Sweden. A Stockholm-based magazine, Jewish Chronicle, appears bi-monthly, as well as Tachless, the magazine of the Jewish Congregation. Shechita (Jewish ritual slaughter) is prohibited and kosher meat is imported from abroad.
By hosting the January 2000 Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, attended by forty-five heads of state, who declared that the Holocaust “challenged the foundations of civilization,” Sweden became a leading force for raising awareness of the Shoah. Its Living History Project has become a model of Holocaust education. As an outcome of that parley, plans were announced to establish the European Institute of Jewish Studies in Sweden, Paideia. In January 2001, Stockholm was the venue for the Second International Forum for Combating Intolerance, which had as its goal “counteracting and preventing xenophobia, racism, antisemitism and other extremist ideas and movements.” |
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