A Jewish chapel in the southern Swedish city of Malmo was the target of an antisemitic firebomb attack on Monday evening marking the second firebombing on a Jewish building in less than a week in the country.
Molotov cocktails were thrown at a chapel in a cemetery in the heavily-migrant populated city, according to Swedish police, in an attempt at arson. The incident comes after the announcement by United States President Donald Trump to move his country’s embassy to Jerusalem and recognize the city as the capital of Israel, the Times of Israel reports.
The attempted arson occurred only days after protesters on Malmo took to the streets and chanted, “We have announced the intifada from Malmö. We want our freedom back, and we will shoot the Jews.”
Lars Forstell, spokesman for the Malmo police said the incident was being investigated but said the motive for the attack is presently not known.
In a statement, the Jewish assembly in Malmo said, “We strongly emphasize that we can never accept being subjected to threats and attacks.”
The attack comes only days after a similar firebombing was directed against a synagogue in the city of Gothenburg on Saturday. Police arrested three individuals in connection with the attack and far-left activist organisation Expo claimed that all three had recently arrived from the Middle East as asylum seekers.
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom condemned the attacks and the antisemitic protests writing on Twitter, “threats, hate and anti-Semitism have no place in our society.” She was joined by Justice Minister Morgan Johansson who promised to arrest any individuals caught shouting antisemitic slurs during protests.
Germany also experienced protests in Berlin against President Trump’s move where protestors burned Israeli flags in front of the Brandenburg gate.
While the antisemitic demonstration was condemned by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other politicians, the words were not good enough for German police union head Rainer Wendt.
“The same politicians who continue this immigration and deportation drama by illegally allowing in more and more foreigners from the most anti-Semitic region of the world and not even deporting the offenders among them, then proclaim that they are doing everything against anti-Semitism,” Wendt said.