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Israel Increases Travel Threat for Swedish City Malmo Ahead of Eurovision Song Contest
Eden Golan, Israel’s representative at the Eurovision Song Contest, reacts during a press conference following the official unveiling of Israel’s song submission, in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 10, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday increased the threat level for traveling to Malmo, Sweden, and also encouraged Israelis to “reconsider” their upcoming trips to the Swedish city ahead of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest taking place there next week.
The travel threat for Malmo went from level 2 (potential threat) to level 3 (moderate threat), and the NSC recommended “that Israelis planning to visit the city re-assess the necessity of traveling at this time.” The travel alert level was not raised for the rest of Sweden, only Malmo, and “is limited to the period of the Eurovision events and subject to a situation assessment.”
The Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place in Malmo from May 7-11. For several months now, anti-Israel activists and supporters of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement have protested Israel’s participation in the international singing competition because of the Jewish state’s ongoing war against Hamas terrorists controlling the Gaza Strip — a military operation that began following the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. They attempted, unsuccessfully, to pressure Eurovision organizers to exclude Israel from the competition and urged artists to pull out of the contest in protest of Israel’s involvement. Eden Golan, Israel’s representative in the Eurovision contest this year, also reportedly received death threats.
The NSC said in a statement on Thursday that Malmo is “known to be an anti-Israel protest hub,” given its large population of immigrants from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran.
“These protests take place weekly and are often violent, and include calls to harm Jews and Israelis, flag burning, etc. On Oct. 7 [the day of the Hamas attack on Israel], anti-Israeli groups in Malmo publicly celebrated the massacre of Israelis,” the NSC added.
“As a backdrop, besides the protests in Malmo, the past few months have seen an increase in calls by Global Jihad and other radical Muslim factions to carry out attacks against Western objects, including targeted threats against Israelis and Jews around the world, with a preference for high media profile events,” the statement further read. “In this context, it should be mentioned that recently (on March 19) an arrest was reported of two ISIS operatives, who planned to carry out an attack on the Swedish parliament.”
The NSC said due to these developments, there are “credible concerns” about potential terrorist attacks targeting Israelis visiting Sweden for the Eurovision. The NSC added that while Swedish authorities have increased security in Malmo, “it is important to note that unlike the Israeli delegation to the contest, individual Israelis are not protected.”
The NSC also listed “recommended behavior” for Israeli tourists in Malmo, which included staying away from anti-Israel protests and avoiding any open displays of Israeli identity. Israeli tourists visiting Malmo are also urged to download the Home Front Command application, which will allow them to receive quick updates from the NSC in real time in the event of an incident.
Israeli singer Noa Kirel came in third place in last year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Golan will compete this year on behalf of Israel with a song renamed Hurricane. The song’s original lyrics and title, October Rain, were disqualified from the competition because it referenced the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel and was deemed too political by Eurovision organizers.
The post Israel Increases Travel Threat for Swedish City Malmo Ahead of Eurovision Song Contest first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.