21 Summer 2025 o participate in this important ceremony at the 36th annual Raoul Wallenberg Scholarship Ceremony has become a valuable and inspiring tradition for Swedish Ambassadors, or their nominated representatives, that already dates back many, many years. To be here this year feels even more special, as this year marks 80 years since Raoul Wallenberg, the humanitarian hero, and man of extraordinary moral courage, disappeared. Never to be heard from again. The last time I spoke at this event was in 2023, before Hamas’s horrific terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, in what today feels like a completely different, very distant time and reality. I would like to express my own and my country’s sincerest condolences for what happened on that devastating day, and for the ongoing tragedy affecting both Israel and the people in Gaza. Today, the hostages who were captured on October 7 have been held captive in Gaza for a year and a half. It is impossible to comprehend the trauma they are still going through. Sweden continues to demand that the hostages are released immediately and unconditionally. In all the darkness of October 7, I have also come to learn of many stories of extraordinary moral courage on that very day. The Kibbutzim’s security teams that did their utmost to protect their neighbors, Bedouin Israelis who saved many lives at the Nova Festival, and paramedics and rescue workers going straight into the danger zone to rescue those who were there. Many of them lost their lives while saving others, much like Raoul Wallenberg. His spirit, and his moral courage, were there, and we can be grateful that even today, 80 years after his disappearance, there are still people like him. I would also like to mention the importance of empathy and sympathy. A few weeks ago, I had a very interesting meeting with Nurit Carmel, who is working on an educational documentary about Raoul Wallenberg’s time in Haifa – a time that has previously not been as well documented as his later deeds in Budapest. During his time in Haifa in 1936, Raoul Wallenberg lived in a boarding house together with a group of German Jews who had fled the Nazi regime in Germany. Carmel mentioned a specific conversation that Raoul Wallenberg had with a refugee, who had just received news that one of her relatives had been murdered by the Nazis. We cannot know for sure, but the friendships he made, and the insights he gained about the atrocities of the Third Reich, could very well have contributed to his sympathy and empathy for the Jewish people and his decision to do something about it. To me, this shows the importance of not only having moral courage, but also to meet people across nations and cultures, to learn from each other and to build friendship bridges. The less people you meet, the fewer you know who are different from you, and the more susceptible you will become to prejudices, indifference, and even worse, hate and dehumanization. Therefore, I believe that in a time of rising polarization, we should try ourselves and meet people who are different from us, who might not have the same ideas, and work to build new bridges of friendship. Like Raoul Wallenberg did when he left his home to move to Haifa, which perhaps was a piece in the puzzle that later led him to save hundreds of thousands of people. n Raoul Wallenberg – 80 Years Since the Humanitarian Hero Disappeared* Ludvig Foghammar * Remarks at the 36th Raoul Wallenberg Scholarship Ceremony, Tel Aviv University, April 7, 2025. T
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