Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom has aroused controversy by her critical remarks concerning Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. There have been Jews in Sweden for many years. What is perhaps the first record of a Jewish presence in Sweden?
A. Jews were well established throughout much of Europe by the Middle Ages; however, there are no records of Jews anywhere in Scandinavia until the late 1700’s. In 1789, Mayer Moses Rothschild, a member of the prominent banking family, moved from Frankfurt to Stockholm to open a branch of the M. Rothschild & Sons Bank and establish a relationship with King Adolf Frederick and the Swedish royal family.
B. The first identified Jews in Sweden were the Vikings Erik the Red and his son Leif Erikson. Erik was known as “The Red,” referencing a red heart, a symbol of his compassionate leadership of the Viking communities. His son Leif was actually named Lev, the Hebrew word for heart, but the name has been anglicized to Leif.
C. It was not unusual for Jews to serve as court physicians in the royal houses of Europe during the Middle Ages (5th-15th centuries) and Early Modern Period (15th-18th centuries). An October 1557 letter makes a reference to the Jewish doctor of Sweden’s King Gustav Vasa.
D. There are some theories that the Vikings of Scandinavia were actually descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. While there is not a lot of hard evidence, there is a record of a stone found in the area of modern day Malmö, which contained Hebrew letters, and is believed to be from a grave site. In 2003, researchers from Tel Aviv University began a DNA study in conjunction with the University of Gothenburg to see if so-called “Ashkenazic genes” might be found in the Swedish population, but results have so far been inconclusive.
E. The first record of Jews in Sweden was Waterloo, released by ABBA in 1974 after winning that year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The band, consisting of four members–Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog, and Björn Ulvaeus–got its name when Benny’s 2-year-old son Ari came into the room while the band was rehearsing, and called out to him, “Abba, Abba.” The other band members were not familiar with the Hebrew word for father, but liked the sound of it.