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Antisemitic Gang Attacks Participants of Pride Parade in Sweden Wearing Stars of David
Attendees of a pride event wearing Stars of David in Malmö, Sweden were attacked by an antisemitic gang. Photo: Screenshot
Attendees of an LGBTQ+ pride event in Malmö, Sweden wearing Stars of David were attacked by an antisemitic and homophobic gang that hurled insults at the victims while assaulting them, according to Swedish police and videos circulated on social media.
The incident came amid an ongoing surge in antisemitic incidents across Europe following the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
Swedish police confirmed on Tuesday that pro-Israel participants of the Malmö Pride Parade wearing and displaying rainbow garments and flags with the Star of David embossed on them were stopped, harassed, and assaulted while walking through the streets over the weekend. Police have opened an investigation into the case.
“The Swedish police take this type of crime very seriously and we are actively working on the current case,” a police spokesperson said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Video circulated on social media showed men driving up alongside the pride marchers, verbally harassing them. They then exited the vehicle and were joined by others. The assailants, who appeared to be of Middle Eastern extraction, shoved the pro-Israel attendees and attempting to snatch one of their rainbow Israeli flags while calling them “f—king f—gots” and asking if they “support killing children.”
BREAKING:
Swedish police confirms that 3 participants of the Malmö Gay Pride Parade in Sweden were beaten up for wearing Stars of David.
The migrant men who attacked them said:
– “Do you support killing children?”
– “You f*cking f*ggots”
– “You think I won’t hit a f*g?”
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 8, 2024
Some members of the crowd threw punches at the pride event attendees. One woman wearing a keffiyeh appeared to attempt to calm the mob from escalating the violence.
Police confirmed the video is authentic and depicts the incident they are investigating. Malo Pride reportedly became aware of the assault on Monday and condemned the incident.
Malmö Pride is a four-day annual pride festival that culminates with a large parade through downtown Malmö.
The Swedish town of Malmö received international attention for hosting the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this year, amid backlash against Israel’s participation in the competition. Israel’s representative, Eden Golan, faced large, anti-Israel demonstrations outside of her hotel room. Facing death threats, Golan was ordered by Israeli security to remain in her hotel room when not competing in Eurovision.
Eden Golan performing “Hurricane” for Israel at the second semi-final for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest at Malmo Arena on May 9, 2024. Photo: Corinne Cumming/EBU
Golan, who placed fifth in the competition with her song “Hurricane,” was encouraged online by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “You’re competing not just in the Eurovision in a proud and very impressive manner, but you are competing successfully in the face of an ugly wave of antisemitism — and you are standing up to it and representing the State of Israel with huge honor,” he said in a message to Golan.
Meanwhile, Jewish members of the LGBTQ+ community have continued to distance themselves from pride events as antisemitism in Europe continues to skyrocket. In London last month, KeshetUK – a Jewish LGBTQ+ network and charity organization in the UK – announced that it would not participate in London’s pride parade, called Pride in London, after organizers accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza.
KeshetUK cited safety concerns as the reason for not marching. “Against the background of what has been a challenging and at times a complex year for many Jews in the UK, including LGBT+ Jews, some of our friends and congregants have said they do not feel safe marching in the Pride in London event as they have felt in previous years,” said KeshetUK in a joint statement with the London Synagogue for British Jews.
Antisemitic incidents in Sweden have skyrocketed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, where 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage. According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, the number of reported antisemitic hate crimes increased by a factor of five between 2022 and 2023.
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
The post Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
The post Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
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