(MENAFN) The Jewish International Film Festival scheduled to take place in Malmo, Sweden, has been called off after no location agreed to host the event, with some venues mentioning unspecified “security reasons,” according to the festival’s organizers.

This cancellation comes amid a wider trend of Jewish cultural activities encountering obstacles in Western countries since Israel launched its military operation in Gaza in October 2023.

In a Facebook update on Friday, Sam Klebanov, one of the festival’s coordinators, explained that “finding a cinema for the festival turned out to be a real challenge.”

He noted that “no arthouse cinema wanted to host us for various reasons,” with some venues stating “they were already full,” while others referred to “security reasons.”

The festival, intended to celebrate 250 years of Jewish heritage in Sweden from November 29 to December 2, has now been discontinued.

Klebanov emphasized that the festival had received “no threats at all,” and the Malmo police had offered to supply extra security measures.

Swedish Culture Minister Parisa Liljestrand expressed her disappointment in an Instagram post on Friday, calling the situation an “absolute disaster for society.”

Earlier this month, Felix Klein, Germany’s anti-Semitism commissioner, revealed that the country’s Jewish community has experienced “record levels” of anti-Semitism since the beginning of 2023.

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