Leaders and prominent members of the Jewish community in Sweden have renewed calls to ban the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement, following the latest of several demonstrations by the party in recent months.
Around 300 far-right activists participated in a demonstration held by the NRM on Saturday morning, designed to attract attention to the party in the lead-up to Sweden’s general election scheduled for September 9.
Saturday’s rally follows a demonstration it staged in July during an annual political conference, and a rally held in September last year in Gothenberg.
Despite advocating policies restricting citizenship to “Nordic” people, “repatriating” immigrants who are not of Nordic ancestry, and working “to regain power from the global Zionist elite,” the NRM has not been banned.
Jewish Community in Stockholm President Aron Verstandig said neo-Nazi activity in Sweden has been on the rise “for some time,” and described NRM as “an openly violent” party which should be outlawed. “I see it as extremely troubling that we have a rising neo-Nazi movement in Sweden, and the politicians should do whatever they can to ban these organisations,” said Verstandig. Despite the demonstration and rising visibility of the NRM, Verstandig said in general there is a “good environment” for the Jewish community in Stockholm, and that it does not feel any sense of discrimination, noting that Jewish summer camps and educational institutions are fully attended.
He said the community nevertheless feels threatened by the neo-Nazis, as well as by Islamist extremists who have been blamed for the majority of antisemitic incidents in the country in recent years.
