Dolls hanged outside Swedish synagogue during Passover investigated as hate crime
Police in Norrkoping, Sweden, are investigating after someone left a hate-filled message and a group of dolls hanging outside a synagogue there on the first day of Passover.
Hanging dolls Pic: Twitter
According to a post from the Anti-Defamation League, the note referred to Passover being a “Jewish celebration of killing thousands of Egyptian children.” The ADL also posted a photo of some of the hanging dolls with what appeared to be red paint or markers on them.
The neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement posted about it the next day and used a photo which appears to have been taken at night. We urge the police to take quick action against such intimidation and harassment. pic.twitter.com/mXxeehqY9z
— ADL (@ADL) March 30, 2021
The ADL also noted that the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement posted the incident, including a photo taken at night that showed even more dolls hanging outside. In its tweet, the ADL said: “We urge the police to take quick action against such intimidation and harassment.”
A synagogue in the Swedish town of Norrkoping. Source: Screenshot via Google Maps.
A local news website reported that police will patrol the synagogue during the remainder of the holiday, which continues through Sunday night. Norrkoping is about 100 miles south of Stockholm, and according to the European Jewish Congress, has a small Jewish community.
This week’s incident comes just two months after antisemitic flyers and cans that said “GiftGas! Zyklon” were found in the city; that discovery was made on Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Sweden, like many other Western countries, has seen an uptick in antisemitism. Last year, several Jewish groups, including the World Jewish Congress, Jewish Central Council of Sweden and the Central Council of Jewish Congregations in Finland, urged the Swedish government to act against racism and antisemitism.
