Scandal in Sweden: plots to murder Jews revealed
A revelation by Swedish Radio on Tuesday is causing outrage in Sweden: a couple who claimed to be from Afghanistan but were actually Iranian and who were imprisoned in 2021 are alleged to have planned the murder of Aron Verständig, chairman of Sweden's Jewish Central Council, and other Jews on orders from Tehran. The fact that the couple were granted asylum in 2017 despite multiple warning signals makes the case all the more contentious. The national press groans.
The Migration Agency has failed
Expressen sees a major failure on the part of the Swedish Migration Agency:
“How could this happen? Everyone wants to know, except the Migration Agency. When asked by the reporter whether the agency had handled the case correctly, the press officer replied: 'The most important thing is that we get it right in the end.' That's remarkably arrogant. 'In the end', these spies had already come a long way in planning a terrorist attack against Swedish Jews before they were finally arrested and deported. ... No bureaucracy is perfect, mistakes happen everywhere. But when they happen, you have to learn from them. However, the Migration Agency seems to think that saving face is more important than doing its homework.”
A national disgrace
For Dagens Nyheter, this case highlights the fact that Jews cannot feel safe in the country:
“Even before [the spate of anti-Semitic incidents following the start of the Gaza war] we had seen plenty of evidence of what it means to be Jewish in Sweden. ... Reports on schools in Malmö and Stockholm show that Jewish pupils are regular targets of antisemitism and that the adults have not found an appropriate response. Added to this are repeated attacks and threats against Jewish buildings, attacks against individual Jews, people cheering on Swedish streets after the terrorist attack on 7 October, social media overflowing with mockery and hatred. ... Sweden's Jews obviously have to live with being at the mercy of all this. ... This is a disgrace.”