'Jew-free zone' sticker on Stockholm storefront sparks outrage

The person who affixed the second sticker is provocative Swedish street artist Dan Park, who posted the incident online.

Two stickers reading "Jew free zone" appeared this Saturday on the front of a shoe store in central Stockholm, Sweden, sparking widespread public outrage.

Alongside a sticker from the boycott movement against Israel, which declared the premises an "Apartheid-free zone," a sticker was affixed reading "Jew-free zone," with the word "Jew" written in German inside a Star of David, an echo of the Nazi term Judenfrei.

The person who affixed the second sticker is provocative Swedish street artist Dan Park, who posted the incident online.

Park, who has previously been convicted of incitement over the use of Nazi symbols, excused the act by claiming it was a "blunt translation" of the true meaning behind the boycott campaign.

The current incident illustrated the infiltration of overt antisemitic expressions into public spaces in Europe under the guise of political protest. Following public backlash, the owner of the store removed both stickers.

Israel's Ambassador, Jewish leaders respond to the incident

Israel's Ambassador to Sweden, Ziv Nevo Kulman (Tami Rahamimov-Honig), quickly responded in a post on X/Twitter, saying, "Whether the sticker was intended to expose the antisemitic nature of the boycott campaign or not, the entire discussion is abhorrent and shows how normalized antisemitism has become. There must be zero tolerance for antisemitism, in any form."

CEO of the Combat Antisemitism Movement Sacha Roytman also responded to the act. "A store in Stockholm displays a 'Jew-free' sign inside a Star of David. The Nazis had a word for this: Judenfrei," he said. "Decades after the defeat of Nazi Germany, we are seeing this language displayed in European storefronts. This is what happens when hatred of Israel legitimizes direct attacks on Jews under the guise of political activism."

Alongside the official condemnations, the incident ignited a firestorm on social media, where sharp calls were directed at the Swedish government. Users and activists accused the authorities of helplessness and silence, demanding that elected officials take decisive enforcement measures against manifestations of street hate rather than settling for tepid condemnations.

Park has an extensive history of provocations: among other things, he previously placed a canister labeled "Zyklon B" alongside a swastika outside the Jewish Community Center in Malmö, and this past April he was convicted of incitement against a protected group.