Fredrik Sieradzki

"Malmö can become a city where Jews want to settle"

- The Jewish population in Malmö is well integrated into Swedish society, but there is a great deal of ignorance about the Jewish community in the rest of society. This is partly because we are a relatively small group, there are not that many Jews in Sweden at all. In part, it depends on the experiences we have. We have been a vital part of Swedish society and contributed to it, but at the same time flew under the radar. There is a feeling, sometimes perhaps unspoken, that one shouldn’t stick their chin too far out; we know what can happen.

- The Jewish Information Centre has existed for five years. Both the Synagogue leaders and the city felt that we needed to establish a link between the Synagogue and the city's authorities, politicians, press, schools and civil society and ensure that the Jewish community became a more active and vibrant part of Malmö.

- There are so many prejudices about Jews and anti-Semitic sentiments that we have to open up and communicate. So we want to be open and transparent, but we also have to take into account the safety of our members. It is a balancing act, you have to feel secure.

- We are in the process of completing an education centre at the Malmö Synagogue to better take care of all the thousands of school students who visit us annually to help counteract the ignorance and prejudices that exist. It should be a place where we can share in a more interactive way about Jewish life, traditions, culture, language, the Holocaust, Jewish history, and above all else the Synagogue's own history. We have many private individuals and young people, often schoolchildren, who have questions that we try to answer to the best of our ability.

- I hope that Malmö can become a city where Jews want to settle and feel safe. Today, we are unfortunately not there yet. I wish Sweden had a strategy regarding anti-Semitism, one that thinks long-term and not just introducing individual measures.

- The Synagogue has been through a lot, it has also made great commitment. Many young people help on a non-profit basis and that renewal makes me happy.

- We have also started the Narrator Group of Holocaust Survivors (Berättargruppen Förintelsens efterlevande), which takes over from the Eyewitnesses of the Holocaust (Förintelsens Ögonvittnen). We have to get there. We think this is important. Attempts have been made to exterminate us, but to no avail. We will not give them a posthumous victory.