A sign reading "Jude Free Zone," with the German word for "Jew" inside a Star of David, appeared on the glass entrance door of a shoe store in Stockholm, the Swedish capital. Another sign, featuring a map of Israel, declared the store an "Apartheid Free Zone." The owner removed both following criticism.
The person who posted the "Jude Free Zone" sign was Dan Park, a controversial Swedish street artist. In 2009, he was arrested over an installation featuring a perforated plywood heart, a swastika and a can labeled "Zyklon B," the poison gas used by the Nazis to murder Jews during the Holocaust, which he placed outside the Jewish community center in Malmö. He also created an image of Hitler weeping tears of blood while wearing a crown of thorns, like Jesus, accompanied by the words "He too died for our sins."
The antisemitic sign
Park maintains that he is neither antisemitic nor racist, claiming that his work is intended only to provoke thought. In a photo he posted on X on Saturday, he was shown affixing the small white poster to the store window, where the owner had already displayed a sign reading "Apartheid Free Zone" alongside a map of Israel. Park claimed that the white sign was simply a blunt interpretation of the green one. Following an outcry on social media, the store owner removed both signs.
Sacha Roytman, CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, condemned the signs.
"Europe, 2026. Have we learned nothing from history? The Nazis had a word for this: Judenfrei, meaning 'free of Jews.' It was used to describe places from which Jews had been expelled, deported, or murdered during the Holocaust. 81 years after the defeat of Nazi Germany, we are seeing this language displayed in a European shop window."
Roytman also addressed the second sign: "And right next to it? A sign proudly declaring an 'Apartheid Free Zone.' This is what happens when hatred of Israel becomes a justification for openly targeting Jews."
He added that the signs went beyond mere criticism of Israel.
"This is not criticism of Israel. This is the normalization of Nazi antisemitism under the disguise of political activism," Roytman said. "Where are Sweden's political leaders? Where are those who constantly lecture the world about human rights and tolerance? Europe once promised never again. Yet here we are, watching the language of the 1930s return to the streets of Europe. History is not repeating itself by accident. It is repeating itself because too many people are choosing to look away."
Israel's ambassador to Sweden, Tammy Rahamimoff-Honig, wrote on X: "Whether or not the “Jude free zone” sticker was intended to unmask the antisemitic nature of the “Apartheid free zone” sticker, this whole discussion is despicable and shows how normalized antisemitism has become. There should be absolutely zero tolerance for antisemitism. In any form."