“I am afraid that someone will harm me personally or my family,” said Mira Kelber, the chair of Jewish Youth Malmö, as the Jewish community in Malmö has been facing heightened antisemitism. She expressed fear for her personal safety and that of her family, as reported by SVT.se news. This rise in hostility correlates with the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, particularly after a Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on October 7.
Despite previous successful efforts to combat antisemitism in Malmö, a city that has been the symbol of antisemitism, and the trend of Jews leaving their city because of extreme Islamists, “there is now a tangible fear that these advances may be undone,” the SVT.se report said. They also mentioned social media footage showing locals celebrating the Hamas attack which has “further shocked and scared the Jewish residents.”
Kelber highlighted a distinction between criticizing Israel's politics, which she herself engages in, and directing aggression toward Swedish Jews. She called for protesters to differentiate between the actions of the state of Israel and the Jewish community in Sweden.