Today in Sweden: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
Swedish Palestinians gather to remember Gaza victims, Jewish association in Gothenburg warns members not to speak Hebrew in public, and work permit holders set to stage protest against new salary threshold. Here's the latest news.
Gothenburg Palestinians gather to remember Gaza victims
A memorial service was held in Gothenburg to remember two young girls and their mother who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on Saturday, as Arabic-language newssite Alkompis was first to report.
Their father, Ahmed Madi, is a Swedish citizen and had been trying for years to move his family to Gothenburg. Nawal, four, was already a Swedish citizen and Sila, one-and-a-half, was in the process of applying.
Several people attended the memorial service in the mosque in Gothenburg district Angered on Tuesday, and shared stories about the deaths of other family members and friends since Hamas' attack on Israel sparked retaliatory strikes and the start of a new, brutal war.
“There are a lot of Palestinians in Angered who have their loved ones in Gaza. These are hard times, so we’re all here to share in the grief,” Abdullah Almasri, chair of the Angered Islamic Association, told Swedish news agency TT.
Several attendees expressed disappointment that the Swedish government wasn’t doing more for Gaza. Almasri said he understood their reaction.
“I would like them to condemn what’s happening in Gaza too. You should be able to condemn everything that leads to civilians being affected, on whichever side,” he told TT.
Swedish vocabulary: a memorial service – en minnesstund
Sweden suspends development aid to Palestine
Sweden and Denmark said they would suspend Palestinian development aid but maintain humanitarian assistance following Hamas' deadly attack on Israel. On Monday the European Commission launched a review of its development aid to the Palestinians.
Opposition politicians criticised the decision.
"This is completely the wrong course of action. Sweden has never given any aid to Hamas," Morgan Johansson, former foreign minister and current foreign policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats, told TT.
"Swedish aid has been able to strengthen human rights, civil society, healthcare and education. When you now want to pull that, it risks having the opposite effect. It risks fuelling radicalisation and extremism," he said.
Swedish vocabulary: development aid – utvecklingsbistånd
Jewish Gothenburgers warned not to speak Hebrew in public
The Jewish Association in Gothenburg in an email warned its members to be vigilant in the coming weeks, over concern of a heightened threat against Jewish groups and people following the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. It said it expected the situation to get worse.
"We urge everyone to leave Jewish symbols at home, such as the stars of David and kippot for example," reads the email, quoted by the Expressen tabloid. Hebrew-speaking members of the community are additionally urged not to speak Hebrew in public spaces.
The association told Expressen that threatening statements had been in made in social media.
"The worst thing is the loneliness as Swedes remain silent," said one woman, who urged people to speak out against anti-Semitism.
Swedish vocabulary: Hebrew – hebreiska
Swedish work permit holders to form human chain against new salary threshold
The Work Permit Holders Association (WPHA) is set to form a human chain outside the Migration Agency’s office at Sturegatan 15 in Sundbyberg from 10am-3pm on Wednesday, to protest against Sweden raising the salary threshold for work permit holders.
Sweden will from November 1st require all new work permit applicants, as well as extensions and those with pending applications, to earn more than 80 percent of Sweden’s median salary. That raises the threshold from 13,000 kronor a month to 27,360 kronor or more if industry standards are higher.
“We came to Sweden because we wanted to live in a free country where people have the right to live and work and build their future. Instead we are met by broken promises, nationalism, chauvinism and racism. It’s un-Swedish, undignified and embarrassing,” a WPHA spokesperson told The Local in an email earlier this week.
The group is also organising a demonstration at Mynttorget in central Stockholm on Sunday.
Swedish vocabulary: a work permit – ett arbetstillstånd
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Gothenburg Palestinians gather to remember Gaza victims
A memorial service was held in Gothenburg to remember two young girls and their mother who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza on Saturday, as Arabic-language newssite Alkompis was first to report.
Their father, Ahmed Madi, is a Swedish citizen and had been trying for years to move his family to Gothenburg. Nawal, four, was already a Swedish citizen and Sila, one-and-a-half, was in the process of applying.
Several people attended the memorial service in the mosque in Gothenburg district Angered on Tuesday, and shared stories about the deaths of other family members and friends since Hamas' attack on Israel sparked retaliatory strikes and the start of a new, brutal war.
“There are a lot of Palestinians in Angered who have their loved ones in Gaza. These are hard times, so we’re all here to share in the grief,” Abdullah Almasri, chair of the Angered Islamic Association, told Swedish news agency TT.
Several attendees expressed disappointment that the Swedish government wasn’t doing more for Gaza. Almasri said he understood their reaction.
“I would like them to condemn what’s happening in Gaza too. You should be able to condemn everything that leads to civilians being affected, on whichever side,” he told TT.
Swedish vocabulary: a memorial service – en minnesstund
Sweden suspends development aid to Palestine
Sweden and Denmark said they would suspend Palestinian development aid but maintain humanitarian assistance following Hamas' deadly attack on Israel. On Monday the European Commission launched a review of its development aid to the Palestinians.
Opposition politicians criticised the decision.
"This is completely the wrong course of action. Sweden has never given any aid to Hamas," Morgan Johansson, former foreign minister and current foreign policy spokesperson for the Social Democrats, told TT.
"Swedish aid has been able to strengthen human rights, civil society, healthcare and education. When you now want to pull that, it risks having the opposite effect. It risks fuelling radicalisation and extremism," he said.
Swedish vocabulary: development aid – utvecklingsbistånd
Jewish Gothenburgers warned not to speak Hebrew in public
The Jewish Association in Gothenburg in an email warned its members to be vigilant in the coming weeks, over concern of a heightened threat against Jewish groups and people following the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. It said it expected the situation to get worse.
"We urge everyone to leave Jewish symbols at home, such as the stars of David and kippot for example," reads the email, quoted by the Expressen tabloid. Hebrew-speaking members of the community are additionally urged not to speak Hebrew in public spaces.
The association told Expressen that threatening statements had been in made in social media.
"The worst thing is the loneliness as Swedes remain silent," said one woman, who urged people to speak out against anti-Semitism.
Swedish vocabulary: Hebrew – hebreiska
Swedish work permit holders to form human chain against new salary threshold
The Work Permit Holders Association (WPHA) is set to form a human chain outside the Migration Agency’s office at Sturegatan 15 in Sundbyberg from 10am-3pm on Wednesday, to protest against Sweden raising the salary threshold for work permit holders.
Sweden will from November 1st require all new work permit applicants, as well as extensions and those with pending applications, to earn more than 80 percent of Sweden’s median salary. That raises the threshold from 13,000 kronor a month to 27,360 kronor or more if industry standards are higher.
“We came to Sweden because we wanted to live in a free country where people have the right to live and work and build their future. Instead we are met by broken promises, nationalism, chauvinism and racism. It’s un-Swedish, undignified and embarrassing,” a WPHA spokesperson told The Local in an email earlier this week.
The group is also organising a demonstration at Mynttorget in central Stockholm on Sunday.
Swedish vocabulary: a work permit – ett arbetstillstånd
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