At a pro-Palestinian demonstration held at Odenplan in Stockholm, Left Party politician Lorena Delgado Varas—who recently stepped back from her parliamentary duties after sharing an antisemitic post on social media and being reported to the police by the Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities—was publicly praised.
Although the leader of the Swedish Left Party, Nooshi Dadgostar, condemned Delgado Varas’s actions as “unacceptable” and affirmed that antisemitism and racism can never be tolerated, several other prominent figures within the party and the broader pro-Palestinian movement have expressed strong support for her.
A speech delivered at the demonstration targeted what was referred to as the “Zionist media” and launched a vicious personal attack on Aron Verständig, President of the Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, accusing him of being “life-threatening” and spreading falsehoods.
The speech relied heavily on classical antisemitic tropes about Jewish power and influence.
“He has so much power that he can silence a Prime Minister, fire a policeman, and do whatever he wants in our country,” the speaker declared. “Remember his name,” he added—remarks to which the crowd reportedly did not object.
The Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities had previously protested Delgado Varas’s social media post, which featured a meme promoting the notion of a global Jewish conspiracy. A prosecutor later concluded that the post was clearly antisemitic and constituted a serious transgression, but did not meet the legal threshold for hate speech, as intent could not be proven. In the wake of the controversy, Delgado Varas took a leave of absence from her parliamentary functions.
The speech at Odenplan appeared to be, at least in part, a reaction to Aron Verständig’s decision to file a complaint with the Parliamentary Ombudsman against Delgado Varas.
The speaker’s conspiracy-laden rhetoric once again invoked antisemitic stereotypes, portraying Chairman Aron Verständig as “dangerous”.
