Jamal El-Haj (politician) should not be confused with Jamal Al Haj.
| Jamal El-Haj | |
| Office1: | Member of the Riksdag |
| Constituency1: | Malmö Municipality |
| Term Start1: | 24 September 2018 |
| Birth Name: | Jamal El-Haj |
| Party: | Independent (2024–) Social Democratic Party (–2024) |
| Alma Mater: | Lebanese University |
Jamal El-Haj (born 1960) is a Swedish politician, trade unionist and member of the Riksdag, the national legislature. A former member of the Social Democratic Party, he has represented Malmö Municipality since September 2018.[1] He had previously been a substitute member of the Riksdag for Leif Jakobsson between June 2016 and September 2018.[1]
El-Haj was educated in Tripoli, Lebanon and has a degree in sociology from the Lebanese University.[1] He has held various roles at the IF Metall trade union.[1] [2] He was a member of the municipal council in Malmö Municipality from 2002 to 2014.[1]
In March 2023, El-Haj attended a conference hosted by the European Palestinians Conference, seen together with a known activist for the Islamist movement Hamas, Amin Abu Rashid, who was later arrested for financing terrorism linked to the organization.[3] A number of Swedish politicians immediately demanded his resignation.[4] [5] In May 2023, it was announced that El-Haj had been temporarily dismissed from his position in the Swedish parliament.[6]
After the events of 7 October 2023, where Hamas attacked Israel, leading to significant casualties, Jamal El-Haj was approached by Swedish media for a comment. El-Haj chose not to participate in the interview. This decision was interpreted in various ways.[7] After having received widespread criticism from both Riksdag members and various media platforms, he later publicly affirmed his decision to distance himself from Hamas.[8]
On February 7, 2024, a leaked document revealed El-Haj's attempt to leverage his Riksdag position to influence the Swedish Migration Agency concerning the asylum application of a controversial Muslim religious leader. Additionally, it came to light that he had requested the agency to conceal his efforts to sway the decision.[9] As a result of widespread criticism among the Swedish public, the Social Democrats declared on 9 February 2024 that they had lost confidence in El-Haj and asked him to resign. He subsequently left the party, but retained his seat in the Riksdag as an independent MP.[10]