RESISTANCE MOVEMENT. The Jerusalem Post recently illustrated an article about a “Nazi demonstration” in Madrid with a photo of the Nordic Resistance Movement, which is increasingly being used as a symbol of National Socialism and criticism of Jewish power around the world.
The Nordic Resistance Movement is once again attracting attention from various parts of the world. This month the Jewish Jerusalem Post provided some unexpected publicity by illustrating an article about a “Nazi demonstration” in Madrid with a photo from the Resistance Movement’s demonstration on 1 May 2018 in Ludvika.
The article describes how Jewish leaders in Spain are demanding an investigation after approximately 300 “right-wing extremists” held a demonstration next to a cemetery where veterans who fought on Germany’s side in World War II lie buried.
During the demonstration, a young woman gave a speech in which she reportedly said: “It is our duty to fight for Spain and Europe, which have now been weakened by the same enemy as before, who wears many different disguises: the Jew.” She also reportedly said, “The Jews are to blame.”
According to the article, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain is concerned that right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism are on the rise in the country. To illustrate these phenomena, The Jerusalem Post used an image of the Nordic Resistance Movement, which did not participate in the demonstration, but which apparently constitutes the symbol of National Socialism and criticism of Jewish power in the world today.
World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) has also drawn attention to the Nordic Resistance Movement in recent weeks. In a post on its website, it states that anti-Semitic propaganda was placed in three locations in Linköping, as well as on the Eriksberg crane in Gothenburg, citing Swedish media as a source.
In several articles over the past year, the WJC has urged the Swedish authorities to suppress opinions by demanding a ban on the Nordic Resistance Movement. In a December 2020 opinion piece in Svenska Dagbladet, four leading Jews attempted to dictate what the independent Swedish parliamentary inquiry should decide in regard to a possible ban. The contributors were Maram Stern, Vice President of the WJC; Petra Kahn Nord, Swedish Representative of the WJC; Aron Verständig, Chairman of the Jewish Central Council in Sweden; and Yaron Nadbornik, Chairman of the Central Council of the Jewish Congregations in Finland.
The four Jews said they hoped the investigation into “bans on racist organisations within the framework of the current constitution” – which will be completed in February 2021 – will arrive at the “right decision”. “The importance of the investigation’s conclusions cannot be overemphasised,” they wrote.
Petra Kahn Nord clarified this directive from the WJC in a separate article in the Gothenburg Post:
The World Jewish Congress believes that the Committee on the Prohibition of Racist Organisations should submit bills that make it possible to ban the Nordic Resistance Movement, and that the Riksdag and the government ensure that these proposals become a reality. There is no other alternative if we want to ensure the possibility for Swedish Jews to operate in safety.
Anti-Zionism = anti-Semitism
The WJC also appears to have begun using the Nordic Resistance Movement as a general symbol of National Socialism and anti-Semitism. On its international website, the organisation has a section urging readers to sign petitions for various causes connected to Jewish power. One of these petitions seeks to call on the EU to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism.
According to the IHRA, anti-Semitism is having a “certain perception of Jews”, if this perception is negative. It is further stipulated that anti-Zionism and the call for a boycott of Israel should be classified as anti-Semitism, and thus criminalised. In addition, the IHRA believes that internet platforms that do not remove anti-Semitic content “should be condemned and, in extreme cases, boycotted”.
The WJC chose to illustrate this petition with a photograph of the Nordic Resistance Movement demonstrating in Sweden. Given that anti-Semitism is supposedly much more widespread in other European countries – according to the WJC’s own investigations – it’s reasonable to interpret this choice of photo as a direct signal to the Swedish authorities to act.
