Planned protests against Israel’s participation in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest have caused concern within the community, according to a spokesman for the Jewish community in Malmö, Sweden.
OR Sweden has promised a spectacular show from May 7 to 11 but the competition will take place amid protests over the military crackdown on Israel at Gaza Striptriggered by her raid Hamas on October 7 in southern Israel.
The community of about 1,200 Jews is worried it could be the target of major protests planned for May 9, when Israel will take part in the second semi-final, and again on the day of the final, May 11.
“There is a sense of unease, of tension. I can’t say I’m not worried,” Felix Kraus Sjögren, a tour guide at the Malmö synagogue, told Reuters. “With Israel participating in Eurovision, the atmosphere will be even more intense and maybe the synagogue will be the target of the protests. It’s not unthinkable.” The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the contest, has resisted calls to exclude Israel and its contestant, Eden Golan.
Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city, has a large Muslim community, with most of its members coming from Iraq and Syria. Gang crime has been on the rise in Malmö and other major Swedish cities for years due to the drug trade and the integration of the immigrant community.
According to the protothema, the Jewish community often invites school classes to the synagogue. “If a class with many Muslim children visits us, we often find that we have a lot in common. We have seen very positive meetings here,” said Fredrik Sierandski, head of the Jewish Teaching Center in Malmö.
“Eurovision of course won’t help in that sense, but it will pass and then we’ll get on with our lives.” Although members of the Jewish community in Malmö have not experienced physical violence, Sjogren says he feels nervous about wearing his Jewish kippah in public. “I probably wouldn’t do it during Eurovision week. I’d like to make sure I have something to cover it.”
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