Task force for Jewish life in Sweden has meeting at Swedish Police Authority
Published
The Government’s task force for Jewish life in Sweden gathered for its first meeting of the year on 30 January. On this occasion, it was held at the Swedish Police Authority’s premises in Kungsholmen, Stockholm. The meeting was attended by Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer, National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh and representatives of the Swedish Institute for Human Rights and the National Agency for Education.
National Police Commissioner Petra Lundh opened the meeting with a presentation of the Swedish Police Authority’s activities, underscoring the fact that antisemitism is not only an issue for the Jewish minority, but for our entire democratic society.
Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer then described the Government’s efforts to increase security for the Jewish minority and emphasised the importance of taking a broad approach to the issues concerned. The task force and new strategy to strengthen Jewish life and combat antisemitism play important roles in the efforts to increase the ability to combat antisemitism and other threats to the Jewish minority.
The Swedish Institute for Human Rights recently published its report, Exposure of Jewish congregations and associations to antisemitism. At the meeting, investigator Emma Melander Borg spoke about the report. It includes accounts of widespread antisemitism in schools, which is affecting the activities of Jewish congregations and associations. The report also shows that Jewish people are particularly affected if they live in a small town.
On behalf of the Government, the National Agency for Education has investigated the experiences of school administrators, school employees and pupils concerning antisemitism in schools and how schools are working to combat antisemitism. Lars Thornberg, head of division at the National Agency for Education, explained that the study also shows that antisemitism in schools can take on many different forms and that school staff need the knowledge to detect and combat all forms of antisemitism.
The meeting continued with a round-table discussion that gave all task force members an opportunity to provide a situation report from their perspective and talk about new and ongoing initiatives. The state secretaries rounded off the meeting with a summary of the initiatives to strengthen Jewish life and combat antisemitism taken by the Government since the previous meeting.
Task force for Jewish life in Sweden
The Government’s Task Force for Jewish life was presented in January 2023. It is an interministerial working group tasked with collaborating and conducting dialogue on preventive measures and efforts to improve the conditions for Jewish life and prevent and combat antisemitism in Sweden. The Government’s efforts to combat antisemitism are a priority and focus on three areas: education, increasing the safety and security of Jews in Sweden, and fostering Jewish life in Sweden.
The task force is led by State Secretary to the Prime Minister Johan Stuart and also includes state secretaries from several different ministries. The task force includes three civil society organisations: the Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, Judiska Ungdomsförbundet (the Jewish Youth Association) and the Jewish Committee Against Antisemitism. Representatives of relevant government agencies, organisations and other experts also take part.
National strategy to strengthen Jewish life and combat antisemitism
The Swedish Government has adopted a national strategy to strengthen Jewish life and combat antisemitism. This strategy will provide a structure for national efforts in the period 2025–2034. The objective is to lay the foundations for more targeted and coordinated efforts and create better conditions for Jewish life in Sweden.
