School debater Hamid Zafar has for several years written derogatory posts online about Jews and homosexuals, which Dagens Nyheter was the first to reveal.
During the day, Zafar was suspended from his job as head of children and education in Mullsjö municipality and poked from the Moderates' integration commission, where he was previously a member.
Henrik Bachner, historian of ideas and researcher in anti-Semitism, believes that anti-Semitism has become more visible in the Swedish public and that social media has facilitated the spread of anti-Semitic messages.
What types of groups stand for these views?
- Anti-Semitic views exist throughout the political scale from right to left.
At the same time, we see that this type of perception is comparatively more widespread in groups with roots in the Middle East.
Anti-Semitism is also a central part of ideology and propaganda in radical nationalist movements, in white power environments as well as in radical Islamist environments.
These are groups that in many cases are also pro-violence and pose a threat to Jews and Jewish institutions in Sweden, he says.
Reduced taboo
Throughout the post-war period, anti-Semitism has been taboo, but that taboo has gradually weakened in society over time, Bachner says.
He also emphasizes that anti-Semitism is a prejudice and tradition of ideas that is akin to racism and other types of intolerance and xenophobia.
- We have a political climate where this type of perception has become clearer, it is a stronger polarization and generally a greater tolerance for stigmatization and suspicion of minorities.
I think one should see the prevalence and manifestations of anti-Semitism in relation to the broader climate change in the Swedish public, he says.