Israeli, Swedish flags at Malmo LGBT march
Malmo is a Swedish city known for its high Arab population, anti-Semitism, and anti-Israel attitude; despite dangers, intrepid Israeli marchers and organizers dared to parade with Israeli flags alongside LGBT flags through the heart of the city.
A group of 30 Israelis and Israel supporters participated in a pride march in the Swedish city of Malmo on Saturday despite the city's reputation as a hotbed for anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activity.
The pride march saw participants waving Israeli, Swedish, and gay pride flags.
The march was organized by Ilana Adner, an Israeli who has lived in Malmo—home to the highest Muslim population in Sweden—for the past 40 years. She gathered 11 other Israeli residents of the city, several of the city's Jewish residents, a Palestinian from Nablus, a Palestinian from Bethlehem, and other Israel supporters to participate in the march.
The participants marched with signs which read "Tel Aviv salutes the Malmo Gay Pride March," and proudly waved Israeli flags.
While the marchers encountered verbal abuse from Arab residents of the city, they were also greeted by many people clapping and cheering on the march.
"A lot of Swedes know Tel Aviv and know that the people there are very pro-LGBT," Adner said. "It felt like I was tempting fate if we had written 'Israel' on the signs, so I wrote 'Tel Aviv.' Overall, a lot of people approached us to congratulate us, but there were a lot of Arabs who yelled 'f**k Israel' at us. That wasn't so pleasant. But we weren't afraid and continued to wave the flag."
The group also handed out little Israeli flags, which they received from the Israeli embassy, to bystanders. At one point during the march a confrontation with Palestinian girls transpired. Nevertheless, the march ended peacefully mainly due to the fact that Swedish police officers were escorting participants.
The Swedish Police have promised to do more to protect Jews and Israelis from violence, yet no tangible effects have been felt on the ground.
"Identifying yourelf as an Israeli in Malmo can end in violence," Adner said. "It usually starts with derogatory name-calling, yelling, and threats, but can quickly spiral into violence. We're worried someone might attack us. Although this didn't happen, you can still feel the tension in the air."
She addd that "waving the Israeli flag isn't something normal to do in Malmo, and this is the first time it's happened at a gay pride march. I insisted that we wave Israeli flags because we are sick of being afraid in this city. I felt that enough was enough. We're not ready to keep being afraid without doing anything. So we decided to wave the Israeli flag."
Israeli Ambassador to Sweden Isaac Bachman praised the initiative an said that it was important to bring Israeli opinions to the Swedish public.
"I'm happy and sensed a change. We are succeeding in presenting Israeli opinions and positions to the Swedish public via social and public media," said Bachman.
"More and more people are coming forward to defend Israel, including the initiative to wave the Israeli flag in the Malmo pride parade. Malmo is the most difficult city in Sweden to be Jewish or Israeli due to its large and strong Muslim population. A lot of them are from the Middle East and bring their hatred of Jews and Israel from their home countries."
