Sweden is hosting a global forum to combat anti-Semitism
Delegates from dozens of countries, religious groups and large-scale technology gather in Sweden for a conference to combat anti-Semitism, which is on the rise in the Scandinavian country that housed Jews during the war.
It brings together more than 400 people, including the head of the European Council Charles Michel and representatives from 40 countries, the UN, Jewish organizations and social media giants TikTok, Google and Facebook.
The meeting is held under high security in Malmö, the southern city, where you see a strong police presence.
“Remembering is not enough. As the last survivors of the Shoah (Holocaust) leave us, anti-Semitism lives on, Michel told the International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Anti-Semitism.
“That’s why we need to do more than just remember. We must act. We must react now. ”
Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who is leaving office next month, has made the fight against anti-Semitism one of his last major battles.
He has promised better protection for Sweden’s 15,000–20,000 Jews.
Reports of anti-Semitic crimes in the Scandinavian country increased by more than 50 percent from 2016 to 2018 from 182 to 278, according to the latest statistics available from the National Council for Crime Prevention.
They account for six percent of the reported hate crimes, it adds.
Experts attribute the increase in reported anti-Jewish crimes largely to the growth of social media and say that the perpetrators are varied and are found among both immigrants and “ethnic Swedes”.