Israeli official: Sweden should be more sensitive

Official says Swedish gov't should find way to condemn anti-Israeli reports despite law against it

Jonathan Weber

Published: 08.22.09, 09:09 / Israel News

An Israeli official in Sweden said Friday evening that Israel's expectation of the Swedish government to condemn an anti-Israeli article published by one of the country's tabloids was "something you can expect of any nation".

Earlier Friday Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said that he would not condemn an article in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet that suggested IDF troops had harvested the organs of dead Palestinians. He said freedom of expression is part of the Swedish constitution.

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"We have sent a clear message to the Swedes that we expect a government-issued statement against the publication," the Israeli official told Ynet.

"In cases of wild reports such as this it's important to hear a clear message from the government, and in addition a condemnation was issued by their ambassador in Israel, Elisabeth Borsin Bonnier. The Swedes need to be more sensitive to our needs, as we are to theirs," he added.

"The Swedes explained to us the legalities in their country, by which the government and its members cannot comment on newspaper reports," the official added.

"The separation between the government and the press in Sweden is a little strange to me… In other countries no one is upset when a minister publishes an article in the newspaper. No one thinks it is a threat to freedom of the press."

The official said many Swedish news editors and commentators had disparaged the report and its writer, but that the government had not budged on its neutral stance.

"We expect the government in Sweden to find a proper way to express its stance on singular subjects that require special sensitivity, like anti-Semitic publications," he added.

Israel's ambassador to Sweden, Benny Dagan, also commented on the affair Friday. In an interview with the Swedish news agency TT Dagan said, "Israel will never be tolerant of irresponsible publications such as this. At the end of the day, it's about protecting the citizens of Israel and Jews residing in the Diaspora. It's a principle."

When asked whether Israel planned to investigate the claims made by the tabloid he said, "Why shouldn't we investigate whether Jews were behind the World Trade Center attack? Why shouldn't we investigate whether Jews killed Christian children in order to consume their blood and organs? Why shouldn't we investigate whether Jews are spreading AIDS in Arab countries?

"Why shouldn't your papers investigate this? It would make great headlines. Nonsense like this should never be published in a serious paper. It's not good for the paper or the Swedish press in general."

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