In order to be considered proper Swedes, just must abandon their faith and religious identities, an ultra-nationalist Swedish politician declared this past week.

As quoted by The Guardian and other European media outlets, Björn Söder of the Sweden Democrats party said that “most [people] of Jewish origin who have become Swedes leave their Jewish identity behind,” adding that it is important to make a distinction between “citizenship and manhood.”

He said that paying immigrants to go back to their homelands would help dissolve “foreign enclaves” within Sweden and “create a society with a common identity.”

Deputy Speaker of the Swedish parliament, Söder has caused a tremendous uproar among the Jewish community in Sweden. Approximately 18,000 Jews live in Sweden today.

The leader of Sweden’s Jewish community, Lena Posner Körösi, likened Söder’s remarks to “good old rightwing anti-Semitism…exactly like in 1930s Germany.” She added that “the mask is slipping” from the true dace of Sweden Democrats.

Over the last year, anti-Semitic violence has rocked what was once a peaceful existence of the Jewish community in Sweden. Muslim violence, especially in Malmö, the country’s third largest city, has put the local Jewish community on a constant state of high alert.

Many Jews in Sweden have expressed their growing fears at the government’s inability to properly quell the violence and protect its Jews.

Last September, a bomb was set off outside Malmö’s Jewish Community Center. Dozens of anti-Semitic fueled crimes and attacks have been reported. Last month, a man was severely beaten for displaying an Israeli flag in his window.

Söder’s comments are the latest in a set of moves by the new liberal Swedish government showing a rift in relations with Israel and the Swedish Jewish community. In October, the Swedish government officially recognized a state of Palestine.

In response to the decision, Israel’s Foreign Ministry recalled its ambassador from Sweden and continues to diplomatically protest the move.

At the time, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman stated, “The decision by the Swedish government to recognize a Palestinian state is an unfortunate decision which strengthens radical elements and Palestinian recalcitrance.”

“It is unfortunate,” said Lieberman, “that the Swedish government chose to adopt a declarative measure that can cause much damage and bring no benefit. The Swedish government must understand that relations in the Middle East are more complex than one of Ikea’s flat-pack pieces of furniture, and would do well to act with greater sensitivity and responsibility.”

On Thursday, Liberman boycotted a meeting with his Swedish counterpart, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Margot Wallstrom, over her country’s recognition of “Palestine.”