A few hundred Jews and non-Jews marched in the southern-Swedish city of Malmo to protest intolerance and anti-Semitic attacks in Sweden.
Malmo, with a large immigrant Muslim community, saw a surge in hate crimes against Jews after Israel’s operation in Gaza in 2009.
Some marchers wore a kippa.
Willy Silberstein of the Swedish Committee Against Anti-Semitism, which organized the march, described it as a success. The march ended without incident.
“It was impressive. There was much more people than we expected,” Silberstein said, adding that most of the participants were not Jewish.
Sweden’s minister for EU affairs, Birgitta Ohlsson, walked in the march. In her speech to the marchers she declared that Malmo was open to everyone, regardless of background or beliefs.
In recent years, Sweden’s government has been criticized for failing to protect the country’s Jewish community from anti-Semitism. But last year the government allocated funds to this end.
It is estimated that 20,000 Jews live in Sweden.
