The Swedes Don’t Understand the Film They’re Starring in

From the President’s Desk
The Anti-Semite Corner of the Week

For the Swedes waking up to a morning when Jewish films can no longer be screened in Malmö: don’t be surprised when you discover that antisemitism is only the trailer.

By: Anat Vidor, WIZO President

These words are written only hours before my departure to Sweden, for the WIZO Europe conference and the celebration of 100 years of WIZO Sweden. The festive feeling that accompanies my trip is shadowed by a deep unease at the sight of a country that once symbolized beauty, excellence, and progress.

Today’s headlines tell a troubling story: a Jewish Film Festival planned in Malmö to mark 250 years of Jewish life in Sweden has been canceled, because not a single cinema was willing to host it. It has become dangerous, in Malmö, to screen a Jewish film.

As usual, official reactions expressed restrained verbal concern and little else.

“The fact that the organizers believe they cannot hold the event is a tragedy for society,” the Minister of Culture carefully phrased it. The leader of the Liberal Party added: “Those who praise terror and persecute Jews have no place in our country.” Thus, sounds a comforting Swedish statement – general, theoretical, and ambiguous.

“But wait!” I said to myself as I read the report, “isn’t this the same Sweden whose Prime Minister, barely two months ago, demanded a boycott of Israel or at least economic sanctions against it?” and another memory surfaced: wasn’t it the Kingdom of Sweden itself that decided to hold the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest in that very antisemitic city, fully aware of what it symbolized – and allowed the musical event to be accompanied by violent pro-Hamas riots under the slogan ‘Intifada’?. And wasn’t it the same Sweden where over 1,000 prominent artists signed a petition demanding Israel’s expulsion from Eurovision, citing the “brutal war in Gaza”? The same government that stood silent in the face of a local campaign to exclude Jews from the competition? And this time – not a word about Greta.

That’s you, isn’t it? Sweden-Sweden! So what did you expect? Hatred of Israel and hatred of Jews are one and the same, and the atmosphere of terror in Malmö against anything suspected of being Zionist – you fed and nurtured it, or at best, turned a blind eye. And this is only the trailer for the real film to come, because antisemitism is not only the problem – it is also the symptom of an imminent existential threat to Western values.

There are good and decent people in Sweden, many of them supporters of Israel and opponents of terror. There are kind-hearted Swedes who see no issue with the fact that the most common name among Swedish children today is “Mohammed.” And I worry for them. Because cultured, pleasant nations like the Swedes tend not to fight back – until it’s already too late. “When they came for the Jews – I did nothing,” says the famous parable. “When they came for the dissidents – I did nothing. When they came for the LGBTQ people – I did nothing. When they came for the elderly, the disabled, and the Roma I did nothing. And when they came for me, there was no one left to fight beside me.”

These words are written as I prepare to leave for Stockholm, for a festive WIZO gathering. Alongside the excitement and anticipation of meeting my friends, this year there is also a sense of deep concern.

Because in a country where books are burned – people will soon be burned as well.

And in a state where a Jewish film festival cannot take place, who can say whether, in five or ten years, a WIZO conference will still be able to take place there at all.