A new report from the ADL warns that neo-Nazi group Nordic Resistance Movement of Sweden (NRM) – a “virulently antisemitic hate group [that] poses an ongoing and serious public security threat” – is exporting its message to other countries.
The new report said that NRM aims to stage a revolution to replace democratic governments with a Nazi dictatorship encompassing Scandinavia and the Nordic region. The ADL noted that the group, which vandalized a Swedish synagogue with bloody baby dolls during Passover in 2021, has expanded internationally, including in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. It also has ties with American white supremacist organizations.
“What is so alarming about the Nordic Resistance Movement is its obsession with violence and its antisemitic core beliefs,” said Sharon Nazarian, ADL senior vice president of international affairs. “Their name refers to its belief that it is fighting a war of resistance against Jews and they have held hundreds of combat training sessions in preparation for what they claim will be the overthrow of European democracies.”
“The NRM distinguishes itself from other Swedish right-wing extremists,” said Daniel Poohl, CEO of the Expo Foundation, the co-author of the report. “They are more violent, more ambitious and more well-organized than any other group. They actively work to disrupt democracy at the local level by intimidating and attacking anyone they deem a target – Jews and other minorities as well as activists, local politicians and journalists. For a quarter of a century, they have successfully sought to expand their reach beyond Sweden’s borders, establishing branches in neighboring countries and forging alliances with extremists across the world.”
Poohl explained that while right wing extremism has always been a “transnational threat,” its international outreach is more of an issue today than in the past.
“Cooperating across countries to counter this threat is crucial. We are glad to have partnered with the ADL to produce this report and hope to continue working together going forward,” he said.
According to the report, the “fanatically antisemitic Nordic Resistance Movement is the Nordic region’s leading and most dangerous right-wing extremist group.”
“Over the quarter-century of its existence, the NRM has built up a transnational, hierarchic organization with paramilitary and cult-like elements and a strong emphasis on violence,” the ADL wrote, noting several “disturbing developments in recent years that show NRM currently poses an increased threat to the Jewish community in the Nordic region, and particularly in Sweden.”
“With its array of media outlets and broadcasts, the NRM wields an outsized influence on the global white supremacist movement, maintaining alliances across Europe and inspiring groups in the United States,” the report said. “While banned in Finland in 2018, the organization operates freely in its home country of Sweden and across the Nordic region.”
The ADL added that NRM held 185 meetings in 2020 to “carry out strenuous physical exercise and engage in training for paramilitary tactics in anticipation of street violence, riot situations and encounters with law enforcement.”
According the the report, “the NRM’s goal to rebuild its ‘violence capital,’ together with its strong emphasis on antisemitism, highlights the risk of an increased threat to the Jewish community in the Nordic region and particularly in Sweden.”
In response, the ADL urged European governments to “develop and deepen multilateral cooperation to counter this threat.”