US Antisemitism Envoy Condemns Planned Torah Burning in Stockholm

US Antisemitism Envoy Deborah Lipstadt has expressed concern over Sweden’s approval of a demonstration in Stockholm where activists plan to burn a Torah and Christian Bible. Lipstadt stated that such acts will create an environment of fear and impact the ability of Jews and other religious minority groups to freely exercise their right to freedom of religion or belief in Sweden. Jewish groups in Europe, the US, Israel, and elsewhere have condemned the planned gathering, drawing attention to Europe’s history of intolerance towards Jews. The Council of Swedish Jewish Communities refers to the burning of Jewish books as being linked to pogroms, expulsions, inquisitions, and the Holocaust. The Jewish Youth Association also condemned the act as hateful and despicable. The demonstration was scheduled in response to a Quran burning outside a Stockholm mosque by an Iraqi immigrant last month.