Religious Freedom In Sweden Under Threat

School Authorities Challenge Religious Education

Online school yearly reunion. Photo from COL. Front Photo: Haga Nygata, pedestrian street of city district Haga, Gothenburg, Sweden. Photographer: Erik of Gothenburg, EVL.

by S. Fridman – Gothenburg, Sweden

January 31, 2012

(Lubavitch.com) On January 26, Rabbi Alexander and Leah Namdar, Chabad representatives to Sweden, were served at their home with a notice by Gothenburg’s school authorities: Four of their children presently studying at an international online school must be delivered to a Swedish school by February 1. Failure to do so may result in a fine of 16000 crown—the equivalent of $2400 per week.

The notice came following a change in Sweden’s law January 1st that tightened restrictions on homeschooling, permitting it only in “extraordinary” circumstances. Religious reasons were explicitly excluded as a valid reason.

According to Richard Backenroth, the attorney representing the Namdars in their court battle against Gothenburg’s school authorities, the case will be a critical test of Sweden’s record on religious freedom. European law protects the religious freedom of its citizens, but with this action, Sweden is effectively denying the Namdars this right.

“This is a stain on the reputation of a country that takes pride in equality as a fundamental value,” says Rabbi Namdar who, like his wife, regards education as their “highest priority.”

Backenroth, who is appealing the notice and its “exorbitant fine” which came while the Namdars’ case is still pending, told lubavitch.com that “Sweden’s schools cannot possibly accommodate the needs of the Namdar children with respect to their religious requirements.”

Moreover, the law, which challenges the right of parents to home school their children, should not be applied to the Namdar children, he insists, because they are in fact, being educated “in a normal online school along with 500 international students,” as well as through private tutoring, yet Gothenburg school authorities are choosing to ignore this.

Guy Linderman, a Jewish citizen of Sweden who was active in politics supported the law when it was drafted years ago, but objects to its enforcement in the case of the Namdars. The law was originally motivated by concern for Sweden’s immigrant children, he explains, “many of who were denied an education, and had grown up illiterate, incapable of signing their names.”

But the Namdar children whom he has come to know well, have benefited from high educational standards. “They are more educated than their Swedish peers,” he said, pointing out that all of them pursue careers in education.

Furthermore, as the only Orthodox Jews in the city, forcing them to go to a Swedish school where they would stand out, expose them to real danger. Swedish schools are notorious for their bullying problems, and the children would become a certain target for anti-Semitic harassment.

Leah Namdar sees this as one more in a pattern of challenges that she and her husband have been faced with in the course of the last 21 years since they have made their home in Sweden. Six of their 11 children now live and study abroad at Jewish high schools, teaching seminaries and rabbinical schools.

“We gave them an education that allowed them to integrate into the schools they have gone on to study at,” Leah said. That is the same educational route the rest of her children are expected to pursue.

“They need this education through the international online school in order to continue their studies abroad,” she said.

At their individual computers from 8:00 each morning to 1:15, five days a week, the children must master a full schedule of Judaic studies including proficiency in Hebrew. The afternoon is dedicated to English, Swedish, mathematics, geography, science, music, art, and gymnastics. All the children speak English, Swedish, and Yiddish fluently. They can read Hebrew by age 4 or 5, like other Orthodox Jewish children.

Their extra-curricular activities include community work with regular visits to the elderly, helping out with the Sunday Hebrew school classes for other Jewish children taught by their parents, and other educational activities. The online school also ensures the children benefit from a healthy social experience.

To read more go to: http://lubavitch.com/news/article/2034463/Religious-Freedom-In-Sweden-Under-Threat.html

“Hanging in the balance then, really, is nothing less than the religious freedom of Sweden’s citizens.”

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https://hef.org.nz/getting-started-2/

and

https://hef.org.nz/exemptions

Swedish Pol to Social Services Minister: Take Homeschooled Kids!

“The law should be amended so that social services are able to intervene when children are kept away from school by their parents.”

In a controversial opinion article in Aftonbladet, a prominent Swedish newspaper, Lotta Edholm, one of the leaders of Sweden’s liberal party, has called for a change in the country’s social services law to encourage social workers to take children away from homeschooling families.

Lotta Edholm

Edholm writes in her blog “That the Deputy Minister of Social Affairs, Maria Larsson … should take an initiative to change the social services act so that the social authorities can intervene when children are kept away from school by their parents.” Read more…

Jonas Himmelstrand
“Home education is an effective and perfectly legitimate way for children to learn. Edholm’s argument is totalitarian and breaches fundamental democratic principles.”  Michael Donnelly “Sweden’s educational policy is becoming increasingly totalitarian. A country that does not permit home education is not really a free country.”

We’ve received news today that Gotland Courts have refused to grant a hearing on the transfer of custody of now 10 year old Domenic Johansson from his parents and to foster parents. During a December 9th preliminary hearing, the Johanssons and representatives of Gotland Social Services were asked to present evidence supporting or refuting the need for custody transfer. After reviewing all the evidence, news was recieved today that the presiding judge has determined there was not enough evidence suggesting Annie and Christer Johansson should permanently lose the custody of their son. To the best of our knowledge, this is the very first time in the 2.5 years of this battle, where the Johanssons were finally allowed representation in court by an attorney of their choosing, Ruby Harrold-Claesson.

While this latest court decision does not lift the ongoing LVU order, it is a very bright star in an otherwise bleak journey through the Swedish Social Services system. Now that a judge has finally heard and weighed evidence from all sides and has found the side of Gotland Social Services to be wanting in their case against the Johanssons, it is our hope that the dissolution of the LVU case will soon follow with Domenic placed back into his rightful position within the bossom of his family.

Click HERE to read background on this case.

Click HERE to read an open letter from Christer Johansson, Domenic’s father.

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Open Letter & Timeline

Open Letter From Grieving Father

by Christer Johansson

I’ve read the Discrimination Law, the Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention, the Swedish Government Third Wave of Implementation of Human Rights and I have no other option but to conclude that our family is being gravely discriminated against by the Social Service on Gotland.

My name is Christer Johansson and I am the father of a bright, beautiful boy that has been broken into millions of pieces by the Social Services in Gotland Kommun. As perhaps you know, Domenic was taken from us in 2009 as we were on our way to India. This happened after a year of harassment and disputes over our right to educate Domenic at home. Once they took Domenic from us, we started a process of hearings and appeals to determine if we were fit parents and if Domenic was to live with us or with a foster family.

What follows is an account of some of the miscarriages of justice and blunt discrimination with which the Social Services approached our case from the very beginning. The social workers presented reports based on inventions and untruthful statements and they were not challenged by the lawyers that were supposed to defend us. Pure gossip was elevated to the status of science while sound statements by psychologists and doctors on the mental and physical health of the family were dismissed.

Just as an example, the Social Board asked the social workers at the beginning of the process about the grounds for taking custody from the parents and placing Domenic in foster care. Social worker Caroline Palmqvist stated that it was “on account of Christer’s mental health.” This was the first time any of us heard that my mental health was an issue. On no occasion before the moment they took my son from me had anybody within the system mention this. Now, I have proved twice and with sound reports from experts, that I do not have a mental health problem. I did suffer the trauma of suffering an earthquake and a robbery that almost took my life and took everything I had. That is different than having a mental disorder.

When mental health could not be pressed harder as a reason for justifying taking my son from me, they accused me of being a drug addict. I said, “Let me go and test myself.” Now in Sweden, to go and test yourself a Social Worker has to make the request. In this case it was the responsibility of Sofie Rosenquist to make such request. She did not do it, and she did not do it repeatedly forcing me to plea with the laboratory in charge of the testing to do it anyway. They did and it came back clean. I sent the results to Sofie Rosenquist who later on testified that I had not taken the test. Despite my complaints nobody in the court system followed up on her statement or on the laboratory.

All of a sudden I ceased being an issue and they focused on the fact that Domenic had been educated at home. It did not seem to matter that we won the case regarding homeschooling before Domenic was taken from us. It did not seem to matter that we have, in fact, registered Domenic in public school in Havdhem. It did not seem to matter that I was also invited to work there as I have been working as a teacher for many years…

Read more here: http://friendsofdomenic.blogspot.com/2011/12/open-letter-timeline.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FriendsOfDomenicJohansson+%28Friends+of+Domenic+Johansson%29

TIMELINE

Fall of 2008: The Johansson’s (Christer and Annie) contact the Ministry of Education and after being told that they could homeschool and start the process amidst the obstruction of local school officials. They make the decision of homeschooling base on their plans to move to India in a few months and consider that this will ease Domenic’s (born 2002) transition and adjustment.
January 2009: After being fined and visited by social services on many occasions, Christer Johansson calls for meetings to discuss this matter, to no avail. The authorities decide that Domenic has to go to school.
February 11. 2009: The Child and education department orders the family to pay a fine of 250 SEK per day that Domenic is not at school. The Social Services intensify their pressure on the family. Homeschooling is still the only issue.
May 27th 2009: An action is taking to enforce the payment of the fine (Now 15.000 SKr). The court refused to enforce it because the school year is over – an implicit recognition of the right of the family to homeschool under the law at that time (it became illegal in July 2011). Christer Johansson informs the court of the family intention to move to India on June 26th. There is no court order or any other legal action taken to prevent the Johanssons from moving to India as was their plan.
June 25, 2009: Domenic and his parents are seated on the flight to India. Swedish police take Domenic from the plane. They alleged that there has been an anonymous report on the family (this has never been confirmed). The family cooperates. They are told that some social workers are going to talk to Domenic for a few minutes, they agree to let him go. The social worker takes Domenic from the airport. Annie collapses.
The Social Services agree to place Domenic with his uncle, Christer’s brother, Mike. The parents are told that they will be able to have Domenic back the following Monday. When they go to pick him up, they are told that they have found two cavities, that Domenic seems to be extremely shy and not behaving like a normal kid of his age, and they consider this to be evidence that there is a developmental problem. From here on there is reference to Domenic’s mental health. This time both Annie and Christer collapsed. Due to their physical and emotional reaction the social services decide to not allow them to see Domenic. They finally see Domenic 6 WEEKS later. In Christer’s words “he (Domenic) was broken in small pieces”
August 4th, 2009: First hearing.

Read more here: Read more here: http://friendsofdomenic.blogspot.com/2011/12/open-letter-timeline.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FriendsOfDomenicJohansson+%28Friends+of+Domenic+Johansson%29

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Domenic Johansson remains separated from his parents, even as Swedish Social Services seek to remove all remaining parental rights.

Domenic, now 10 after his recent birthday, has been separated from his parents two and a half years, following his abduction by Social Services while seated in a commercial airliner with his parents awaiting departure on a flight to India.

Domenic is a citizen of India, and his mother’s family all live in India. However, Swedish Social Services in Domenic’s home town of Gottland decided to prevent the family’s departure in order to force the boy to attend their school.

The family had received no preliminary warning, nor they had been forbidden from leaving the country. They had also not been accused of breaking the law. Indeed, the only complaint the Swedish Social Services had against the family at the time was that they wanted to homeschool.

Throughout the ordeal the rights of the parents have not been respected and they have not even been allowed to choose their own legal representation.

The HSLDA and ADF have been trying to bring the case before the European Court of Human Rights. However, Social workers have been discussing allowing Domenic’s foster family to take him to visit Thailand while World Net Daily reported on 7 October that Gotland Social Services have been seeking to officially terminate all remaining parental rights.

…Read more here  http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/?p=2172