Sweden’s Ilmar Reepalu, who serves as mayor of Malmo, granted a media interview published in the Skanska Dagbladet newspaper on International Holocaust Remembrance Day equating Zionist with anti-Semitism.
The newspaper asked the mayor to comment on his position regarding anti-Semitism, to which he responded his community does not accept anti-Semitism or Zionism, labeling them both “extreme unacceptable positions”.
He did not stop there, but Reepalu pointed a finger of blame at his community’s Jewish community, explaining the Jews do have a decision how to act and how they are portrayed. He was referring to their failure to distance themselves from Israel’s actions against residents of Gaza, Operation Cast Lead. He criticized the fact that his community’s Jews dared to hold a pro-Israel rally, which he states sent the wrong message.
Needless to say the Jewish community is up in arms; reporting the situation for them in their community continues to deteriorate, citing a marked increase in attacks against the Jewish center. The community of Malmo includes 700 Jews and some 55,000 Muslims. Local police confirm a significant increase in attacks and threats against local Jews and Jewish community buildings.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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21 Responses
No wonder the Arabs love living in Malmo. With a mayor like that, I bet they couldn’t have found a better home.
The Swedes incidentally took in the Jews of Denmark during WWII. My, how times have changed!
YES, Flatbush Bubby, times HAVE changed!
Here we have another Jewish community that should hear the wake up call to GO HOME (while they can.)
The bottom line is that Zionism is Jewish (or Israeili) nationalism – reminiscent of French Nationalism (“France for the French”) or German Nationalism (figure it out). In other words, nationalism is now synonymous with racism. Would anybody accept nationalism, in any form, in any other part of the world?
Why are the Jews still there? What is it Malmo has to offer? Sure it’s hard to re-locate but what’s the “Chochma” in staying?
Sweden is, unfortunately, one of the most anti-semitic countries in the world. They make some of the Arab countries look good by comparison.
I now equate Swedish Mayor with Swedish Meatballs.
#3 —
A) Zionism is NOT Jewish nationalism. It is simply the component of Judaism that relates to the fact that Hash-m gave us a homeland, and that we (should) all aspire to live in the land he gave us, the land which be”H will have the Beit HaMikdash rebuilt in it someday soon. If you disagree with this, perhaps you should not be saying “l’Shana HaBa B’Yerushalayim” on Pesach or motzei Yom Kippur (or any other time.)
B) Even being a nationalistic Frenchman or Italian or American is NOT by definition, racist. It simply means you love and are proud of your country and care about its interests. There is absolutely nothing INHERENTLY wrong with being nationalistic. If one’s nation preaches hate or the destruction of others. that is a different story.
Funny if it weren’t sad/scary. First, they complain that we went like sheep to their slaughter. Now they complain when we don’t!
When nazilibs talk against Zionism they do not just mean secular Zionists who want an Israeli version of “a democracy”.
They mean any Jew who thinks they have the right to exist or to have any homeland or place of Jewish heritage.
King David summed it up in Tehillim, where he says (if I remember the quote, correctly) “May my right hand be cut off if I forget Jerusalem”.
Moshe Rebbeinu’s greatest wish was to be allowed to set foot in Eretz Yisroael, but H-sh-m only allowed him to see his people enter the land while he watched from a mountaintop.
How many of the 613 Mitzvohs can be done ‘only’ in
Eretz Yisroael?
And of course the Jews were just supposed to sit there and die quietly like good little Jews.
No they had no right tio fight back in “Cast Lead” did they.
The terrorists have the right to murder Jews, and Jews have no right to defend themselves.
Sweden’s Ilmar Reepalu is just another nazilib, putz.
#6 – Seems like a good equation to me!
#7, contrary to your and others’ popular belief, Zionism (the movement, whether political or “religious”) is most definitely NOT a component of Judaism (but rather is, in fact, opposed to Judaism).
The TRUE yearning to return to Eretz Yisrael and the building of the third Beis HaMikdash with Moshiach Tzidkeinu, may it be speedily in our days, has nothing to do with the artificial graft to our religion that is Zionism.
I don’t know what to make of this mayor, though my assumption would be he is an anti-Jew and pandering to his Muslim community, but the story should still not be used as yet another poor excuse for Zionism.
#3 – You’re confusing nationalism (proud of your nationality, i.e. race) with patriotism (proud of your country). You simply can’t justify Zionism in a modern liberal world. Unless you want to recognize other forms of nationalitsic pride, like German pride or American pride or White pride.
To #12 – I do not understand why you and some others feel the need to equate “Zionism” with “secular Zionism”.
If secularists took what IS a part of Judaism to embrace, and, tragically, dumped the rest of what Judaism is, that does not make Zionism any less a part of the totality of Judaism.
If there were a group of Jews who for some reason chose to observe ONLY kashrus, but no other mitsvos at all, would you call them “kashrus-ists” and say that kashrus is not a part of Judaism? Of course not! So why do people feel compelled to do that with Zionism. Of course picking to embrace ONLY Zionism without the rest of Torah is ridiculous. Of course there is MUCH more to Torah Judaism than ONLY Zionism, but to say that Zionism, i.e. the yearning to have, to rebuild, our Jewish country in the Land of Israel is NOT part of Judaism is just as ridiculous!
#14 — Zionism IS Nationalism and is NOT even a part of Judaism. It is not comparable to someone only holding kashrus (“kashrus-ists”) and throwing out the rest of the Torah. Zionism not only throws out the rest of the Torah, but the Zionist ideology itself is anti-Torah.
Volvie – Maybe you could enlighten us as to exactly how YOU define the “Zionist ideology” (a part of Torah ideology which you seem willing to abandon the secularists).
Zionism promotes a governed state within the borders of Eretz Yisroel. That state that Zionsim was established by the UN in 1948. Torah Judaism does not believe in the existence of a state nor does it even have a need for one. Judaism yearns for the coming of Moshiach to establish Malchus Beis Dovid.
To #17: That is YOUR definition of Zionism, and you are entitled to have YOUR definition.
MY definition of Zionism is that it is the component of Authentic Torah Judaism that says that HaSh-m gave the Jewish people the Land of Israel “v’yishavtem bah” and you should dwell in it, if it is humanly possible to do so. Due to our sins, we were punished and so for many centuries, for many Jews, living far away from Eretz Yisrael, it was NOT possible to do so, -but now, it IS.
No one (at least not me) is saying that the present government there is anything remotely like what HaSh-m wants of us, or is a real Jewish government, and I am the first one to condemn MANY of the vile things they do. Nevertheless, even though Mashiach has obviously not yet arrived (at least not as of the time I am writing this) to establish a proper Torah run country, there is STILL no comparison between living in, and raising one’s family in the holy air of Eretz Yisrael and doing so anywhere else.
I have been told by those that think like you do, that R’ Elyashiv, R’ Kanievsky, the Chazon Ish, R’ Shlomo Zalman, etc. etc. were/are not Zionists. According to your definition I guess they weren’t, but according to mine they are. They picked themselves up from Europe and with much difficulty transplanted to Eretz Yisrael. In the pre-war years there were amazing, heilige yeshivas in Europe. So WHY?
Because Eretz Yisrael is KODESH.
Because avirah d’arah machkim.
Because Eretz Yisrael is HOME.
Because eventhough Mashiach had not yet come, and eventhough it was difficult, they WERE ABLE TO, and so they DID.
To me, THAT is Zionism.
If one doesn’t want to hold by the government there, fine, – but one shouldn’t legitimize not going up to live in Eretz Yisrael when it IS do-able, with bogus excuses, -for if living in Israel is no better than living in Brooklyn or Monsey why are the Gedolim (mentioned above, plus MANY others) living there with all those tattooed, ear-pierced, Hebrew speaking tinokos she’nishb’u?
#18 — You have to understand that part of the Zionist propaganda is that they like to confuse the issue of living in Eretz Yisroel with Zionism, even though the two have nothing to do with each other. Zionism – the Zionism that was opposed – means having a sovereign state there during golus. That issue has nothing to do with “ahavas eretz yisroel” or “eretz yisroel” at all.
#18 – “That issue has nothing to do with “ahavas eretz yisroel” or “eretz yisroel” at all.”
The anti-Zionists MAKE IT very much have something to do with ahavas Eretz Yisrael when living in chutz la’aretz is equated with living in Eretz Yisrael, when living and learning in Brooklyn or Lakewood or Monsey is said to be as good, or better than, living and learning in Eretz Yisrael.
If the kedusha of Eretz Yisrael did not make it a superior environment for living and learning (even before Mashiach comes) the many Gedolim we have spoken of in these comments would not have been matree’ach themselves and their families to make the arduous trek from the heilige towns and yeshivas of (pre-war) Europe to re-settle in Eretz Yisrael.
So now we are disagreeing about terminology. I call what they did, (obviously religious) Zionism. You obviously chose to call it something else.
#20 — Again, you’re buying into the Zionist propaganda where they like to confuse the issue of living in Eretz Yisroel with Zionism, even though the two have nothing to do with each other. The Brisker Rov and many Gedolim who were vociferously anti-zionists like the Brisker (i.e. Rav Amram Blau zt”l and the old Yishuv) lived in Eretz Yisroel — even before the advent of zionism! Living in E. Yisroel is absolutely great and a big mitzvah — and also has nothing to do with zionism.
As far as the semantics, regardless of what you would like to redefine it as, zionism is defined by the likes of Herzl et al (who would’ve taken Uganda rather than Palestine if that opportunity came first), who are defined by their outspoken despise for the Torah HaKedosha.