In recent years, Sweden-long known for its liberal and democratic image-has become one of the most complex and challenging places for Jews in Europe. Incitement against Jews began well before October 7, 2023, and gradually evolved into an organized effort by extremist elements, some of which received substantial public funding that was distributed with negligence and willful blindness.
A major investigation published by the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter recently exposed a scandal shaking the country: Roughly $100 million in public funds, designated for education, welfare services, and childcare, were diverted to institutional networks tied to radical Islamic actors. Some of these groups have spent years deepening hatred toward Jews, promoting antisemitic agendas, collaborating with cells affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, and fueling campaigns of incitement.
Antisemitism in Sweden is a layered phenomenon. Some of its roots trace back to World War II, when parts of Sweden’s intellectual elite adopted a highly critical view of Jews. In the past few decades, additionally, large waves of immigration from Muslim-majority countries introduced cultural and identity tensions that authorities failed to address adequately.
Violence, demonstrations, and online discourse reveal how anti-Israel rhetoric has long since crossed into explicit antisemitism. Synagogues have been vandalized, rabbis threatened, and Jews subjected to verbal and physical attacks. Jewish communities in Malmö and Stockholm report escalating insecurity – children avoid wearing Jewish symbols in public, and Jewish schools require heavy security.
Sweden's systemic failures for Jews
The new funding scandal has sharpened this reality. It not only exposed systemic failure but also illustrated how hatred, when supported by institutional and financial infrastructure, can become a force that erodes the social fabric of an entire nation.
The Swedish investigation revealed troubling details. Institutional networks in Stockholm and Gothenburg, including the Al-Azhar group, operated under the guise of legitimate educational institutions while funneling funds to purposes entirely unrelated to their public mandate. Through these bodies, money was used to purchase real estate and luxury vehicles and to support organizations aligned with extremist ideologies, such as the Muslim Brotherhood.
Regulatory authorities admitted that oversight over these funds had been exceedingly lax for years.
Sweden’s desire to promote independent and pluralistic education turned the state into a victim of a system disguised as schooling, but functioning in practice as a channel for political and ideological financing.
Public funds were also used to spread antisemitic propaganda, circulate conspiracy theories, and promote hostility toward Israel and Jews. In several institutions, investigators found curricula and messaging that encouraged hatred and undermined the legitimacy of Jewish existence.
SWEDEN’S JEWISH community is small, about 20,000 people remain, but it increasingly feels the strain of daily life. Threats and attacks have grown more frequent. Rabbis, kosher shops, and synagogues have been targeted, and police are now required to secure Jewish communal events.
In large areas of Malmö, Jews avoid visiting locations associated with Jewish life for fear of being targeted. One of the most disturbing findings in the investigation was that Jewish students heard remarks such as “Hitler was right” or chants of “Death to the Jews” during school breaks.
In a country that prides itself on democratic and liberal values, social media discourse has become increasingly toxic, fueled by misinformation about Jews, Israel, and the Middle East conflict, often amplified by the very institutions that received public funding.
A central question emerging from the scandal is how a developed state with a robust regulatory framework failed to detect a phenomenon involving $100 million in misallocated funds.
It appears that Sweden’s commitment to a tolerant and open immigration policy created a dangerous blind spot that allowed extremist groups to exploit the system.
Authorities reacted only after the investigation went public. Schools were closed, arrests were made, and assets seized. But for the Jewish community, much of the damage had already been done.
This affair is not merely a story of financial corruption. It illustrates how ideological organizations can infiltrate state mechanisms to advance hatred.
Like much of Europe, Sweden is waking up too late to the reality that antisemitism is not a marginal phenomenon. It is sustained by funding, ideology, and the absence of oversight – and when granted institutional support, it becomes a threat to democratic society as a whole.
The Swedish government is now being called upon to take full responsibility: strengthen security, remove extremist influence from public institutions, and ensure that taxpayer funds serve their intended purposes rather than fueling hatred.
The $100 million scandal is more than an oversight failure. It is evidence that even advanced democracies can fall victim to networks of radical incitement. Antisemitism in Sweden reached new heights because it was allowed to grow unchecked for years – and once it received public funding, it became a tangible threat.
In a country that fails to protect its Jewish community, it is not only Jews who suffer-the entire democratic order is at risk.
The writer is CEO of Radius 100FM, an honorary Consul and deputy dean of the Consular Diplomatic Corps, president of the Israeli Radio Communications Association, and a former IDF Radio analyst and NBC television correspondent.