Aron Verständig has received many signals from worried congregation members as a result of the conflict between Iran and Israel in the last 24 hours. On Friday evening, when the Sabbath begins, he nevertheless urges the members to participate in worship services and other activities as usual.
We view this situation very seriously. We have seen before that Iran has struck back at Israel's attacks, not just against Israel but also against Jewish targets outside of Israel, he says.
The Jewish Central Council is increasing its vigilance and preparedness. The coordination between the country's Jewish congregations is also increasing.
"Our own assessments"
There is no connection between the Israeli embassy and the Swedish-Jewish congregation, emphasizes Aron Verständig.
We make our own assessments based on the security situation, he says.
The Central Council does not conduct its own activities or events, and Aron Verständig has no information about whether the individual Jewish congregations will cancel events due to the conflict in the Middle East.
We urge members and others who visit us to always be vigilant, he says.
Verständig does not rule out that it may become relevant to close activities connected to the Jewish Central Council in the future.
It depends on the threat picture, on what happens and on the assessment made by Swedish authorities, he says.
No appeal regarding symbols
Israel is closing all its embassies around the world due to the conflict. The Israeli embassy in Sweden has also urged people not to display Jewish or Israeli symbols in public places. Aron Verständig, however, sees no reason to urge members not to wear the Star of David or similar symbols in public.
Generally, there is great concern among Swedish Jews about terrorist attacks on Jewish targets. Of course, we are aware of the risk, but it is still manageable. We closely follow the development and hope that the attacks do not escalate, says Aron Verständig.
