"When I see Sweden's confrontation with the Corona, I am proud to live in our traditional and Levantine society, which has almost automatically chosen the weak and the elderly," Ophir Tobol recently stated ("What Israel Can Teach Sweden", 10.06), in an article that attempted to show that Sweden systematically abandons Her elders, which is evident in the high numbers of Corona's deceased, and that this entails her secular identity to Mahadrin. 

Precisely because Sweden is so different and interesting, and many wait in suspense to see how its corona strategy will continue, it is impossible for the debate about it to be held in cliché. In forgiveness, no far-reaching statements are made based on the IKEA catalog, which was drafted by Tobol as an illustration of the Swedish worship of "timeless young women." In fact, Sweden is one of the pioneers of recycling and second-hand, it has a culture of minimalism and not consumerism, and it is not uncommon to see people in IKEA queuing with individual items - exactly what they need and nothing more. IKEA founder himself, Ingeber Kamprad, drove an old car and recycled tea bags, and even more interesting - lived outside Sweden for about 40 years and returned to it in old age. Probably not so bad there.

After the IKEA catalog, the children's book "Bilby" was cited as an example of "Utopia Without Adults." I'm not sure it's serious. There are no books missing in a variety of languages ​​about a wonderful children's world to which adults are "harassed", the most notable of which is "The Little Prince" to Antoine de Saint-Escuperie; Is it also claimed that France, which has imposed a long closure, is abandoning the elderly?

The truth is that Sweden's elders are treated wonderfully to an enviable system. More than 20 percent of Swedish residents have reached the age of 65 - about 2 million people, and the total cost of treating them is more than 100 billion crowns per year (about NIS 40 billion). Of these, 4 percent are paid by the elderly and the rest is funded through taxes and government inputs. Adults who need it can move to a nursing home or stay home and receive close guidance from qualified caregivers. A local friend once told us with sparkling eyes about the treatment his 97-year-old mother receives, which is better and more devoted to the care he could receive as a working person and family member: daily visits, shuttle services, feeding and shower assistance, making sure to take medication and at the end of each day - Phone for kids with updates. The Swedes are proud of the fact that their taxes allow a high standard of living for all Swedish citizens, from infancy to old age. The system is not perfect at all, but many Israelis would love to provide the same level of care to their parents. In the most secular country in the West, citizens have a high life expectancy and great satisfaction.

After the tough closure in Israel, we all know that the equation is not "closure or mass death". The price is heavy - in mental health, domestic violence, unemployment and business collapse and more. Sweden, for a variety of reasons, was right when it did not rush to close; The mistakes there relate to other areas such as lack of equipments in testing and equipment, refusal to provide insulation for returnees from abroad, and slackness in enforcing the guidelines. Seriously, and compassionate to the clown, maybe even learn something from her here and there.

Liora Levian is an emissary in the Jewish community in Gothenburg, Sweden