Umea is a stronghold for the political left. In general, the left in Sweden is very anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian. Why? Israel is backed by the US. Simple as that.
The opposition found the invitations to the event a shameful disgrace and held a ceremony with the Jewish community. Anders Agren, mentioned in the full article, is a member of the moderate party (center-right).
(For those who want the real source and either understand Swedish or will make do with Google translate the full article is here: http://www.nt.se/opinion/ledare/historielost-morker-i-umea-12224427.aspx )
Thank you for the background. I’m increasingly coming to the conclusion that a Jew would have to be crazy to stay in Europe.