Simona Mohamsson, Sweden’s minister for education and integration, wore a Star of David necklace during a televised political debate this week, seeking to spread awareness about the rise of anti-Semitism in Sweden, she said. Mohamsson, who is of Palestinian descent, said she wore the Star of David – the symbol of both the Jewish faith and the state of Israel – at the election debate on Monday night “for the children who do not dare to in today’s Sweden”. She also criticised Left Party politicians for spreading anti-Semitism in the country.
While Mohamsson’s actions have been regarded as “powerful” by Sweden’s Jewish community, her Star of David necklace has prompted backlash from commentators in Sweden. Malmo city’s official adviser on Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism, Valley Ghanem, a political scientist, wrote on Instagram: “I don’t think I can feel more disgust than this type of person: weak in body, evil in will, pitiful in her betrayal; a self-hating creature who has turned her hatred against her own.” Mohamsson was born in 1994 in Germany, to a Palestinian father from Haifa, Israel, and a Lebanese mother. Mohamsson has, however, always identified as an atheist and not a Muslim.
The family moved to Sweden when she was eight years old and changed their surname from Mohammad to Mohamsson. Mohamsson has been involved in politics from an early age. In 2021, she became a member of Sweden’s Liberal Party, a centre-right, conservative-liberal political party that is in a coalition government with the Moderate Party and the Christian Democrats, after having served as vice-chair of its youth wing.
In 2024, she represented Sweden at the European parliamentary elections, and in 2025, was appointed as the next leader of the Swedish Liberal Party. After becoming leader of the Liberal Party, she wrote on her social media platforms: “Sweden is facing major challenges where liberal politics in a bourgeois government is the answer. She is the author of the 2021 book, Hongkong, which chronicles Hong Kong’s fight for democracy and human rights amid China’s influence.
Mohamsson is a supporter of the European Union and has pushed for Sweden to militarily help Ukraine in its war against Russia. While she has not made many public comments on Israel’s genocide in Gaza or the United States-Israel war on Iran, she has focused on how these conflicts have triggered anti-Semitism in Sweden and campaigned on this issue. On Monday night, Mohamsson wore a necklace featuring the Star of David during a televised political debate before Sweden’s elections in September.
In response to criticism of her following the TV broadcast, she told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet: “I think it is especially important if you have the background that I have, with parents who come from the Middle East. For me, it is obvious that Sweden should be a sanctuary for Jews. It is also important to show a distance from the forces that try to instil fear and who use a conflict to spread anti-Semitism.” Mohamsson has also accused members of Sweden’s Left Party of enabling anti-Semitism to grow by sending “love letters to Hamas”.
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