Israel has so far refrained from engaging with the Swedish Democrats amid antisemitic and Islamophobic sentiments expressed by members. Party members told Haaretz that they met with several ministers during their visit but refused to disclose their names.
Published in Haaretz (with Jonathan Lis and Noa Shpigel): https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-29/ty-article/.premium/top-members-of-far-right-swedish-party-with-neo-nazi-roots-meet-israeli-minister/0000018d-564e-d0fc-a9bd-5e5f9ff00000
A delegation of senior members from the far-right party in Sweden, the Swedish Democrats, arrived in Israel on an unofficial visit and met on Monday with Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli in the Knesset.
The party, currently the second-largest in the Swedish parliament, has roots in neo-Nazi and antisemitic ideologies. It is one of several European parties with which Israel has refrained from establishing official ties.
The delegation has visited Yad Vashem, one of the crossings connecting Israel to the West Bank, and the Old City in Jerusalem. Yad Vashem Museum has emphasized that the delegation members registered for a regular guided tour at the site, like any other tourists, and did not have an official visit within the compound.
Officials in Sweden following the party suggest that the visit is part of its attempt to whitewash its antisemitic and racist positions by presenting itself as a friend of Israel. In a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the party leader, Jimmie Akesson, wrote: "It is clear that our parties and our nations share common values," accompanied by a photo of himself with Minister Chikli.
Party members told Haaretz that they met with several ministers during their visit but refused to disclose their names.
Israel has so far refrained from engaging with the Swedish Democrats not only due to their neo-Nazi roots but also because members of the party have disseminated conspiracy theories and expressed racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic sentiments in recent years.
Israel's Ambassador to Stockholm, Ziv Nevo Kulman, even declared that Israel does not maintain and will not establish future relations with the party. The Israeli foreign ministry, which was not involved in coordinating the visit, clarified on Monday that "there is no change in policy towards the party."
Among the delegation members who visited the Knesset were party leader Akesson, the chairman of the Swedish parliament's foreign affairs committee, Aron Emilsson, the head of the party's parliamentary group, Linda Lindberg, and the head of the party's group in the European Parliament, Charlie Weimers.
Weimers is one of the party's top members who already visited Israel in May of last year. During the previous visit, it was reported that party leaders met with Knesset member Amit Halevi from Likud and former Knesset member Michael Kleiner, who now serves as the president of the Likud's court.
Though part of the Swedish political establishment today, the Sweden Democrats do indeed have roots in Nazism. Some of the party's founders were known Nazis, such as its first auditor, Gustaf Ekström, who was a Waffen-SS veteran.
The party's first spokesperson Leif Ericsson and its first chairman Anders Klarström were both active in various neo-Nazi and extremist right-wing parties, and the chairman of the party's youth organization, Robert Vesterlund, was also a known neo-Nazi. During the 80's and 90's, the party was a marginal force in Swedish politics, and it began distancing itself from extremism and aligning itself closer to mainstream politics in the mid 90's.
The party entered the Swedish parliament for the first time in 2010, and in the elections held a year and a half ago, it received over 20% of the votes. Until a few years ago, the party was ostracized by parties across the political spectrum in Sweden and was not considered for inclusion in any coalition.
However, due to a change in approach by two traditional right-wing parties, the Swedish Democrats became an integral part of the right-wing bloc after the elections, with the government in Stockholm entirely dependent on their support. Party members wield significant influence over the government's policies and hold key positions in parliamentary committees, including foreign affairs, justice, and industry and trade.
In recent months, the party has been attempting to position itself as "the most pro-Israel party in Sweden" and distance itself from its antiemetic and neo-Nazi past. However, in 2021, the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet revealed that the party leader in the second-largest city council in Sweden, Gothenburg, Jörgen Fogelklou, had posted antisemitic and racist statements on social media, such as "It is clear that the Jews are the root of all evil in the world."
Two years ago, it was exposed that some party members had connections with neo-Nazi movements even in recent years. For instance, one party member in southern Sweden, Jonas Lingren, publicly supported rock bands advocating for "white supremacy" and used the slogan "Skinhead 88" (88 is a known code for Heil Hitler, i.e., HH).
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