Wikileaks om antisemitismen i Malmö

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av kvartsmiljonen ambassadtelegram.
Även om det mesta har mycket låg
sekretessgrad borde naturligtvis samtals-
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Men när det nu finns tillgängligt: Ta en
titt på telegrammen från ambassaden
i Stockholm.
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Intressant från Malmö, Sveriges Gaza...
USA-ambassadens analys av Reepalus
antisemitism och partiets syn på
detta. Intressant är bl a Pagrotskys
kommentar att någon behöver ta Reepalu
i öronen (..."need for a corrective
public stance").
**
Telegram 10STOCKHOLM91
C O N F I D E N T I A L STOCKHOLM 
SUBJECT: SWEDISH SOCIAL DEMOCRATS REIN
IN MALMO MAYOR'S PERCEIVED ANTI-SEMITISM
REF: A. 2009 STOCKHOLM 784
     ¶B. 2009 STOCKHOLM 787
     ¶C. 2008 STOCKHOLM 849

¶1. (C) Summary: Following several attacks on the Jewish
community in the Swedish city Malmo, comments by Mayor
Ilmar Reepalu, a leading Social Democrat, caused a ruckus in
national and international media.  Reepalu reportedly blamed
the anti-Semitic harassment on Malmo's Jews themselves,
because they did not take a clear stand against Israel's
incursion into Gaza last winter.  We raised the issue with a
key advisor to Social Democrat leader Mona Sahlin, and she
spoke out February 25, telling reporters that Reepalu's
remarks were "unfortunate" and that she had asked him to open
a dialogue with Jewish leaders.  Comment: The Social
Democrats, in a tight race for this September's parliamentary
elections, do not need to alienate the general Swedish
electorate by being seen as tarnishing Sweden's image as a
place of tolerance welcome to all.  Sahlin's public reprimand
of Reepalu is intended to underline that point to her
countrymen.  End Summary.

¶2. (U) The Swedish regional paper Skanska Dagbladet ran a
series of articles on anti-Semitism in January, in which
Social Democrat Party (SDP) Mayor of Malmo Ilmar Reepalu was
quoted as saying he opposed all forms of extremism, from
Zionism to anti-Semitism.  He reportedly also said Malmo's
Jews bore part of the responsibility for attacks against
their community because they failed to criticize strongly
Israeli actions in Gaza last winter.  Reepalu subsequently
claimed he was deliberately misquoted.  However, in a
February 21 article in the UK's Sunday Telegraph, Reepalu
reportedly stated, "There have been no attacks on Jews, and
if Jews here want to move to Israel, that is of no concern to
Malmo."  In three recent editorials, national daily Svenska
Dagbladet strongly criticized Mayor Reepalu for his
statements.

¶3. (C) DCM hosted a February 24 meeting for Leif Pagrotsky, a
former Minister under SDP-led governments from 1996-2006 and
a key advisor to SDP leader Mona Sahlin, to meet with the
Ambassador.  We suggested that the Social Democrats had a
Reepalu problem.  Pagrotsky, a leader in Stockholm's Jewish
community, replied Reepalu is no anti-Semite.  Rather, he is
a man who faces a very difficult situation running Malmo,
where fully 50% of the city population of 280,000 is
comprised of recently-arrived immigrants, half of whom are
Muslim (Ref B).  Given the difficulties of integration and
the overall economic slump of the past two years, Reepalu is
faced with growing numbers of unemployed, restive young
Muslim males (Note: Refs A and C report unemployment rates of
more than 60% in the Malmo suburb of Rosengard, where several
violent incidents occurred in 2009).  Pagrotsky stated that
Reepalu's comments to the media had to be seen, in part, as
an effort to keep inter-communal tensions from bubbling over
even more -- but he also noted the need for a corrective
public stance.

¶4. (U) The next day, February 25, SDP leader Mona Sahlin
weighed in.  "There have been many examples of discrimination
and attacks against Jews, not least in Malmo.  The Jews
deserve strong support and also one must never mix up the
debate about anti-Semitism and Zionism," Sahlin told
journalists.  "There are a number of unfortunate comments
from Ilmar that came to be interpreted in that way," Sahlin
commented, adding that she knows the popular SDP politician
well enough to know that it was not what he meant. "Ilmar is
no anti-Semite but is someone who fights racism, and he also
is against the attacks sustained by Jews in Malmo.  I have
asked him to open a proper dialogue with the Jewish community
in Malmo in order to work things out," said Sahlin.
**