World Jewish News

Jewish organizations express concern over neo-nazi march near the synagogue of Gothenburg, Sweden, on Yom Kippur

Sweden’s main Jewish organization and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) have expressed deep concern over a neo-Nazi march set to take place near the synagogue in the city of Gothenburg, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Gothenburg is Sweden's second-largest city.

The Swedish Jewish organization has appealed the police decision to grant the openly racist neo-Nazi group the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) permission to stage a march near the synagogue on September 30th.

“It’s the day of the year when many Jews who normally don’t go to the synagogue will gather there. On this day, the police have decided to grant the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement permission to march through Gothenburg, no more than a stone’s throw away from the synagogue,” said Aron Verständig, chairman of the official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, and Allan Stutzinky, Chairman of the Jewish Community in Gothenburg.

Greenblatt requested that the march be re-routed away from the synagogue so that Gothenburg’s Jewish community would not be intimated from attending or performing Yom Kippur services.

“We stand with the Swedish Jewish community in condemning the upcoming neo-Nazi rally on Yom Kippur as an attempt to intimidate Gothenburg’s Jewish community,” he said. “As ardent defenders of freedom of speech – even for hateful speech – we are not asking for the neo-Nazi march to be banned. However, the Swedish government needs to protect the Jewish community’s security and right to freely exercise their religion while also protecting the rights to free speech and assembly.”

Earlier this year, ADL voiced concern over the closing of a Jewish community center in Umea after series of troubling anti-Semitic incidents and threats to members of the community.

EJP