by David Bedein
JERUSALEM - The crisis between Israel and Sweden continues.
The Director of the National Security Council Staff in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, Dr. Uzi Arad, cancelled his working visit to Stockholm for this weekend. Dr. Arad was supposed to meet with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt before the cancellation. The visit was cancelled as a protest against the continuing refusal of the Swedish government to condemn a fabricated story that appeared in the Swedish popular newspaper Aftonbladet that Israeli soldiers sell Palestinian body parts after killing Palestinians. The Swedish ambassador to Israel, Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier, condemned the article only to have the Swedish government overrule the condemnation.
Sweden currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
Dr. Arad was supposed to fly to Stockholm from Berlin following Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to Germany. According to the original plan, Arad was to leave the entourage in order to meet with Bildt and return to Israel on Friday. The visit was planned two months ago, before the crisis developed. Arad was also supposed to meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit who is staying in Stockholm.
During his visit to Germany, Arad telephoned Bildt and told him that, due to the circumstances, he was canceling his trip to Sweden. The two men have known each other for many years and the crisis between the countries has disturbed their friendship.
"Israel is disappointed over the fact that neither the prime minister of Sweden, Fredrik Reinfeldt, nor the foreign minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, has been brave enough to condemn the loathsome article," high-ranking diplomatic officials said.
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Showing posts with label sweden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sweden. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Israeli Reservists to Sue Swedish Newspaper
by David Bedein
A group of Israeli Army reservists has announced that it intends to submit a lawsuit in New York for slander against the Swedish Aftonbladet newspaper for reporting that IDF soldiers trafficked in Palestinian body organs.
Heading the group is Attorney Ophir Miller from Tel Aviv, a major in reserves who served in the Paratroopers Brigade reconnaissance unit and is now an instructor in the IDF's counterterrorism unit. The group intends to sue the reporter who wrote the story, the editor and publisher of the newspaper.
Mr. Miller explained to the Voice Of Israel Radio that the case could therefore be heard in New York since the Swedish paper is also published and distributed there.
Mr. Miller said he spoke to a number of lawyers in Sweden to examine Swedish law on issues relating to such lawsuits.
"The State of Israel must pick up the gauntlet and silence the reporter and the newspaper with a huge lawsuit for injury to the state and its citizens," said Mr. Miller. "Since the heads of state are busy with requests for apologies, we had no choice but to enlist to submit the lawsuit."
To establish his claim, Mr. Miller turned to Defense Minister Ehud Barak and to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to learn the state's position and to receive confirmation that the claims of the Swedish newspaper have no basis in reality.
The Swedish newspaper is also being sued by two Swedish civil rights groups, since Swedish law forbids publication of material that will lead to "incitement on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion."
View this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
View this story at Israel Behind the News
A group of Israeli Army reservists has announced that it intends to submit a lawsuit in New York for slander against the Swedish Aftonbladet newspaper for reporting that IDF soldiers trafficked in Palestinian body organs.
Heading the group is Attorney Ophir Miller from Tel Aviv, a major in reserves who served in the Paratroopers Brigade reconnaissance unit and is now an instructor in the IDF's counterterrorism unit. The group intends to sue the reporter who wrote the story, the editor and publisher of the newspaper.
Mr. Miller explained to the Voice Of Israel Radio that the case could therefore be heard in New York since the Swedish paper is also published and distributed there.
Mr. Miller said he spoke to a number of lawyers in Sweden to examine Swedish law on issues relating to such lawsuits.
"The State of Israel must pick up the gauntlet and silence the reporter and the newspaper with a huge lawsuit for injury to the state and its citizens," said Mr. Miller. "Since the heads of state are busy with requests for apologies, we had no choice but to enlist to submit the lawsuit."
To establish his claim, Mr. Miller turned to Defense Minister Ehud Barak and to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to learn the state's position and to receive confirmation that the claims of the Swedish newspaper have no basis in reality.
The Swedish newspaper is also being sued by two Swedish civil rights groups, since Swedish law forbids publication of material that will lead to "incitement on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion."
View this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
View this story at Israel Behind the News
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Swedish Government Stands Behind False News Report
by David Bedein
Jerusalem, Israel - Following a Swedish news report in the newspaper Aftonbladet that reported the IDF kills Palestinians in order to traffic in their organs, Swedish Ambassador to Israel Elisabet Borsin Bonnier immediately issued a sharp condemnation of the article and apologized to the people of Israel.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry, however, disassociated itself from the ambassador's condemnation.
In the wake of this reversal, Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman conveyed a pointed protest to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. Lieberman also instructed the Foreign Ministry personnel to examine the possibility of revoking the press card held by any representative of Aftonbladet in Israel, and in any case not to assist or cooperate on any matter with the newspaper or its representatives.
"It's too bad that after the Swedish ambassador to Israel did the right thing and denounced the article, and thereby made it clear that his newspaper does not represent Sweden in any way, that the Swedish Foreign Ministry chose to dissociate itself from the ambassador instead of backing her," said Lieberman. "The meaning of freedom of the press is the freedom to write the truth, not the freedom to lie and to malign. A country that truly wishes to defend its democratic values must firmly condemn any mendacious articles that smell of anti-Semitism of the kind that was published this week in the Aftonbladet newspaper. It's unfortunate that the Swedish Foreign Ministry is not becoming involved when the matter is one of a blood libel against the Jews. This is reminiscent of Sweden's position during World War II, when it also did not become involved. The article written this week is a natural continuation of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and to the blood libels in which Jews were accused of adding the blood of Christian children to Passover matzos."
View this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
View this story at Israel Behind the News
Jerusalem, Israel - Following a Swedish news report in the newspaper Aftonbladet that reported the IDF kills Palestinians in order to traffic in their organs, Swedish Ambassador to Israel Elisabet Borsin Bonnier immediately issued a sharp condemnation of the article and apologized to the people of Israel.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry, however, disassociated itself from the ambassador's condemnation.
In the wake of this reversal, Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman conveyed a pointed protest to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. Lieberman also instructed the Foreign Ministry personnel to examine the possibility of revoking the press card held by any representative of Aftonbladet in Israel, and in any case not to assist or cooperate on any matter with the newspaper or its representatives.
"It's too bad that after the Swedish ambassador to Israel did the right thing and denounced the article, and thereby made it clear that his newspaper does not represent Sweden in any way, that the Swedish Foreign Ministry chose to dissociate itself from the ambassador instead of backing her," said Lieberman. "The meaning of freedom of the press is the freedom to write the truth, not the freedom to lie and to malign. A country that truly wishes to defend its democratic values must firmly condemn any mendacious articles that smell of anti-Semitism of the kind that was published this week in the Aftonbladet newspaper. It's unfortunate that the Swedish Foreign Ministry is not becoming involved when the matter is one of a blood libel against the Jews. This is reminiscent of Sweden's position during World War II, when it also did not become involved. The article written this week is a natural continuation of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and to the blood libels in which Jews were accused of adding the blood of Christian children to Passover matzos."
View this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
View this story at Israel Behind the News
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