The World Jewish Congress has called on Swedish authorities to redouble security around Jewish sites in Stockholm, after a high school there was vandalized with swastikas and anti-Jewish slurs. "With an upsurge in Sweden of violent and anti-Semitic behavior linked to political extremism, the authorities must step up protection around Jewish sites,” said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder. “We thank Swedish authorities for their close communication with the Jewish community and their willingness to address these issues.”
Lena Posner-Köroöi, president of the Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, a WJC affiliate, said that the Swedish government had expressed concern and eagerness to act, and that parliamentarians and ministers were meeting today on the issue with the head of the Swedish Secret Police.
The Vasa Real high school, where three classes of Jewish students study Hebrew and Jewish studies, was defaced sometime early Monday morning with graffiti in Swedish, including swastikas, the words “Jewish swine” and “disgusting Jews,” and the number 1488, which is a symbol for white power and the Nazi greeting 'Heil Hitler'. Other nearby high schools also were painted with swastikas, according to Posner-Körösi.
The school has more than 800 pupils aged between 11 and 15. At high-school level, there are three classes with Jewish children who study the Swedish curriculum but also study Hebrew and Jewish studies.
Swedish police have launched an investigation, but the perpetrators remain at large.
Meanwhile, members of Sweden's Liberal Party (Folkpartiet) youth wing took matters into their own hands on Monday night and 'love-bombed' the school, leaving heart-shaped cut outs and messages of love for the students. "We wanted the students at the school to be greeted by love in the morning instead of all the hate they saw on Monday," young Liberal Bawar Esmail told 'The Local' news website.
