Swedes cancel demo against anti-Semitism over security fears
Participants scared by rumors that counter-protesters intended to disrupt the event, organizers say
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Organizers of a demonstration against anti-Semitism in Sweden cancelled the event amid fears of violence and disturbances to public order.
The demonstration was supposed to take place in Gothenburg on Thursday by at least 100 people, but the two organizers cancelled because would-be participants said they were too afraid to show up, the Göteborgs-Posten daily reported.
“At the last minute we learned that many Jews are afraid to come, and that there were rumors that people will come and try to destroy the demonstration and crash it to spread political messages,” organizers Elin Schwartz and Kaino Nordgren wrote on Facebook to announce the cancellation.
They added they could not verify the rumors but, said “we are two individuals and as organizers dare not take upon ourselves the responsibility of ensuring everyone’s safety.” They also wrote:
“Had we had more time, we could find out more about the threat, but now we feel that we need to postpone.”
No new time or venue was set.
Also on Thursday, a well-known Swedish hip-hop music artist, Jacques Mattar, wrote on the picture-sharing social network Instagram that Zionists created the ISIS jihadist group.
Posting a picture of dead bodies, he wrote: “The media aren’t there. Why? The same people who created ISIS control the media: Senior Zionists.”
Mattar, who is known by his stage name Jacco and who is a member of the popular band Labyrint, removed the remark about Zionists from his Instagram account shortly after posting it, the Dagens Nyheter daily reported.
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