Malmö, Sweden, central station, bus terminal and sculpture. Photo: wiki commons.

A bomb exploded at a Jewish community center in Malmo, Sweden early Sept. 28, causing damage but no injuries. The door leading into the community center was shattered, as were several windows. Several eyewitnesses told police officers that they saw two vehicles speeding away from the scene immediately after the explosion before dawn Friday. One of the cars was located, and its two occupants taken into custody.

Swedish police are continuing to investigate the incident. The suspects, both 18 years old, have denied any wrongdoing. The head of the Malmo Jewish community, Fred Kahn, told the Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan that he “was shocked that this had happened now, that it was happening at all.”

“There is always a constant threat against Jewish institutions, but we hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary now,” he said.

“We have to increase our security, but we have no money for such things. We have no hidden stash. We have to use the money we get from membership fees, which could otherwise be used for social, cultural and other purposes,” Kahn added.

According to local statistics, Malmo sees some 50 to 100 anti-Semitic incidents per year. Many of the perpetrators are first- and second-generation Muslim immigrants, who make up 30 to 40 percent of Malmo’s population of 300,000. Many of Malmo’s Muslims are Palestinian. In 2010, following Israel’s 2009 offensive in Gaza, the number of anti-Semitic attacks in Malmo doubled from that of the previous year, with 79 recorded incidents.