Hate crimes against Jews are increasing and the threat picture is palpable.
Today, many people are advised not to show their Jewish identity openly – and many have become extra cautious.
– I look at who is around me. When I get home to the apartment, I look to see if anyone has followed me. It’s stressful not always feeling safe, says Daniel Leviathan.
Daniel Leviathan likens life after the Hamas terror attack on October 7 to a nightmare you can’t wake up from. He is now cautious. His work at Lund University, where he is a doctoral student in Jewish studies, is going well – but he avoids certain places, especially in Malmö.
During a taxi ride in Malmö, the driver began to express hatred towards Jews when he drove past the synagogue.
– I’m sitting in a car, he’s driving and I have zero control over the situation. He quoted a poem that when a part of the body is sick, the whole body becomes sick, therefore one must remove that part of the body. He was clear that it was Jews he was talking about, says Daniel.
The driver did not know that Daniel was Jewish, but felt a great discomfort.
– It was above all a powerlessness that I felt was unpleasant, he says.
“Don’t show your Jewish identity”
In Gothenburg, the Jewish congregation urges people not to wear the Star of David and kippa or speak Hebrew.
Due to the security situation, no one works on site in the congregation’s premises anymore, but remotely. Security guards and the police guard religious services and the Jewish school, among other things.
– We are starting to approach a situation like it was at Kristallnacht which happened on November 9, where there is a great risk that Jewish institutions and property will be vandalized and Jews will be attacked in large numbers. There is such a risk, we feel, says Allan Stutzinsky, chairman of the Gothenburg Jewish congregation.
Pessimistic about the future
Daniel Leviathan, who also sits on the board of the Jewish Youth Association, is pessimistic if the threats and hatred are allowed to continue.
– If you don’t do something about what we are seeing right now, I simply believe that over time people will move, people will abandon the places they live in for safer places. At first it might be Stockholm, but in the big picture you might continue on to Israel or somewhere else, he says.