Israel-Palestinakonfliktens påverkan på antisemitism i Sverige

Världsbilder, delegitimering och tankestrukturer

Abstract

The impact of the Israel-Palestinian conflict on antisemitism in Sweden: worldview, delegitimization and thought structures

This article analyzes the impact of the Israel-Palestinian conflict on contemporary antisemitism in Sweden. It departs from an analytical framework consisting of three broad components: an Israel-Palestinian-centric worldview, delegitimization of Israel, Israelis and Zionism, and antisemitic thought structures projected on Israel. The first conclusion of the article is that there has been a clear connection between the Israel-Palestinian conflict and antisemitism in Sweden since the June war of 1967 and even more since the Lebanon war of 1982. Another conclusion is that the Israel-Palestinian centric worldview, which basically argues that the IsraeliPalestinian conflict is more important than other conflicts and key to peace in the wider Middle East, has weakened in Sweden in recent years. A third conclusion is that periods without major outbreaks of violence in the Israel-Palestinian conflict seem to have a calming effect on antisemitism in Sweden, just like escalations in the conflict trigger antisemitism here. We have seen this pattern repeating itself over the past decade and a half with several wars in Gaza and with the most recent escalation between Israel and the Palestinians in May 2021.