A flurry of stories has emerged from Gothenburg, Sweden, where Rabbi Alexander and Leah Namdar—co-directors of Chabad-Lubavitch of Sweden since 1991—have been defending their right to homeschool their four youngest children (ages 7 to 13). Their current court case is the latest in a series of legal cases that began in 2011 (previously, they had lost in the district court, won in the appeals court and then lost before the Supreme Court).
Living in a country with approximately 15,000 Jews among wider population of nearly 10 million—many of whom are affiliated with the Church of Sweden, but most of whom profess atheism—the Namdars already won an important Supreme Court victory in 2004, when they established that a Jewish school was allowed to function even without the usual minimum of 20 students. Now they seek to extend that provision to allow for homeschooling as well.
Despite the challenges their family faces, the Namdars remain hopeful. “Sweden has to begin respecting the values, morals and belief of a one true G‑d,” asserts Rabbi Namdar, “and all the rest will automatically fall into place.”
Leah Namdar shares her perspective—and challenges—educationally and legally, in addition to what keeps her and her family going.
Q: First, some background. You and your husband are the parents of 11 children. How did this suddenly become an issue?
A: Interestingly, it began after we appeared on a Swedish documentary about belief of G‑d called “From Sweden to Heaven.” Filmmakers had been recording in our home for a week. The film aired three times on the main TV channel here and was viewed by millions of people, and was very well-received, thank G‑d. People were stopping us on the street and telling us how it had gotten them to rethink the concept of belief in G‑d, which was meaningful in the secular, often atheistic, culture in Sweden.
Shortly thereafter, we got a call from the city educational authorities. They said: “We saw you on TV.” We asked how they liked it, and they coldly informed us that they now have more questions than answers, and that they had decided we were no longer able to homeschool our children and needed to enroll them in public school.
Q: Can you please explain the laws pertinent to this case?
A: Sweden allows homeschooling for families that provide a special reason. Thank G‑d, it has also been established early on in the trial that we are giving our children a well-rounded and robust education. The issue here is that the city wishes to argue that religious principles are not a valid reason for us to customize our children’s education—and that’s preposterous.
It’s against the constitution of Sweden; it’s against U.N. [United Nations] and E.U. [European Union] law; it’s against the Geneva Convention; and it flies in the face of the beliefs of religious freedom that’s the foundation of Western society as we know it. Most importantly, denial of religious freedom comes dangerously close to undermining the concept of belief in G‑d, which is the foundation of any society, regardless of race and religion.
In fact, one of the people who worked on the original policy, Guy Linderman, who is active in politics here and a dear friend of ours, told us that this is a distortion of the policy, whose primary purpose is to ensure that children of immigrants receive an education—not to infringe upon our right to give our children an education.
Q: Please describe your children’s educational program.
A: The children’s school day begins at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m., with some lessons in the evening, too. They first pray and then join their classmates at the International Shluchim Online School. The lessons are in English (in addition to Swedish, our children are fluent in Yiddish, English and Hebrew), and that continues until the afternoon. We supplement the online school classes with Swedish lessons, physical education, music, sport, dance and other usual subjects. They have a well-rounded and balanced education.
Our grown children currently serve in leadership positions as educators in Jewish communities abroad, and it’s largely a credit to the type of education that we make sure they get that qualifies them for these roles. There’s no doubt that the online school provides them with a cosmopolitan experience and exposes them to the world far beyond the confines of a typical Swedish school.
Education is very important to us. As Chabad shluchim [emissaries], we represent Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch—the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement—and our work in Sweden involves the education of both children and adults. My husband and I both teach. My husband had also taught in New York and Australia, and here in Sweden. Before coming to Sweden, I taught in London and New York, and have worked educating children for 24 years here in Sweden.
Q: How have you and your family been coping with the negativity associated with the case?
A: We made a decision early on that this challenge should not cast a shadow over our children’s childhood. Yes, this has been a tremendous harassment; we’ve been dragged into court and are facing legal fees, but we have the Rebbe’s [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory] teachings that give us a lot of strength, and we know it’s not about our kids, but a bigger issue of respecting religion in Sweden.
In my mind, I constantly hear the Rebbe’s voice ringing in my ears. In his first Chassidic discourse in 1951, he discusses our mission—an extension of the mission of Abraham—to bring G‑dly awareness to the world at large, and to do so to the degree that the very world will call out in the name of G‑d.
When we were in court this past time, as part of our testimony, we explained the Seven Noahide Laws and how every single person has the moral obligation to make this world a place where G‑d will feel at home.
If for nothing else, our ordeal is helping bring these concepts and the notion of religion in general into public discourse, and that’s a good thing.
Q: Have the children been to court?
A: No, the children do not attend court. But on the screen outside the courtroom, where the docket is displayed, our children are named as defendants. The verse in Torah says, “Do not touch my anointed ones,” which refers to Jewish children.
Q: What support have you received from the community?
A: People in the Jewish community here who know us have been supportive, hoping for our success, and that gives us strength. There is a group of homeschoolers in Sweden who want to raise their children with belief in G‑d and are experiencing similar harassment, many of them Christian. They are watching the outcome of our case with tremendous interest and hope for a positive outcome.
We’ve seen support on a parliamentary level as well. Annelie Enochson is a member of parliament who’s been very concerned and a great source of help throughout our ordeal.
On an international level, there has been a tremendous outpouring of support. The judge showed us in the courtroom a huge stack of hundreds of letters from Jewish and non-Jewish leaders worldwide, from concerned friends and activists who appreciate that this is not a family on trial, but the rights of religious people to freely express those rights that’s at stake here. We tremendously appreciate the efforts of all those who have lent support and have taken the time to write to the court.
Q: What is your concluding message? What do you want readers to take away from your predicament?
A: The foundation of a healthy society is a belief in G‑d, and that is what we imparted to the court. Seventy-five years ago, there was a nation here in Europe whose people were educated; had table manners and etiquette; listened to Beethoven, Mozart and Bach; and followed the laws of their land. Yet they were able to create an Auschwitz. Their laws included destroying 6 million Jews! The reason this was possible is because they took G‑d and Divine morality out of the system, and they became a nation of obedient murderers.
To believe in G‑d means to cherish life and all of His creations—to respect others, the elderly, the children. To appreciate the beautiful world He created, and to study and become part of the people who are an asset to society, and in making the world a better place through acts of goodness and kindness.
The world is a place that is a garden for G‑d. Through recognizing the different needs that people have, we are appreciating that each one of us is playing another piece in the great symphony of humankind.
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See Mrs. Namdar telling her story here:
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