Simona Mohammsson, Sweden's education and integration minister and leader of the Liberal Party, faced a wave of online hatred after wearing a Star of David during a televised election debate. Mohammsson, who is of Palestinian descent, wore the Jewish symbol to express solidarity with Swedish Jews and to protest rising antisemitism in the country.
"I'm wearing a Star of David for the children in Sweden who don't dare to do so," Mohammsson explained during the broadcast. She emphasized that her background made the gesture particularly meaningful: "It should be self-evident that Sweden must be a safe haven for Jews."
The appearance triggered harsh reactions on social media. Wali Ghanem, a political scientist and writer who previously helped develop the city of Malmö's action plan against Islamophobia, attacked Mohammsson and wrote in response: "May she burn." Ghanem later claimed the comment was written in an emotional moment and that she didn't mean it literally.
Responding to the backlash, Mohammsson said her thoughts were primarily with Jews who experience such hatred regularly. "I've met students who told me they don't dare wear a Star of David when they go to their studies," she said, adding that some Jews are afraid to attend synagogue or send their children to school.
"It's important that we as a society raise our voices, stand up and make our position clear, and that's what I did," she concluded.
