To most, Scandinavian countries are progressive and idyllic, even if frozen, places that offer little controversy and tall, pretty blondes of all genders. They are known for politically inclusive systems that welcome asylees and treat immigrants well with their generous social welfare systems.
This past week, however, two of them fell afoul of Israel, and have become the center of the country’s latest international relations assaults.
Israel began its outward Nordic attack on Sweden after its leading paper, Aftonbladet, published an article alleging that Israel was organ-harvesting Palestinians in the early 1990′s.
Comparing the charge to the anti-Jewish canard of ‘blood libel,’ Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that the Swedish government condemn the newspaper.
Pundits and pro-Israel groups followed suit; some even called for a boycott of IKEA. In Israel, demonstrators waved Matzos [pieces of unleavened bread] smeared with red paint, alluding to the common Medieval blood libel, outside the Swedish embassy in Tel Aviv. They also set up a mock market stall with a banner “Palestinian organs on sale here.”
The Swedish diplomat to Israel denounced the newspaper, while other officials asserted that press freedoms forbid them from intervening.
“If I devoted myself to correcting all the strange claims in the media, I would probably not have time to devote to very much else,” said Carl Bildt, the Swedish foreign minister.
Unconvinced, a spokesman for Israel’s interior ministry said it was freezing the issue of entry visas to Swedish journalists. Collective punishment, anyone?
Some felt the entire charade to be a distraction from deeper issues. Gideon Levy, a political analyst for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, described the dispute as “out of proportion” and an attempt by Israel to undermine Sweden’s criticism of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Matthew Cassel made a similar argument in the Electronic Intifada, arguing that baseless allegations give Israel an easy propaganda victory when substantiated allegations abound.
Perhaps this is Israel’s revenge for the lively protests against Israel’s participation in the Davis Cup tennis matches in Sweden. In March, the opposition was so so strong, spectators were not allowed in the stadium. Israel never forgets an insult to its tennis players.
Perhaps so Sweden wouldn’t feel isolated, Israel also turned its ire towards neighboring Norway. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman condemned Norway for commemorating its Nobel Prize winning novelist Knut Hamsun.
Lieberman’s anger was not about Hamsun’s repetitive glorification of nature over civilization and poor treatment of female characters in his works. Hamsun was a Nazi sympathizer, and a public one at that. He sent his Nobel prize to Hitler’s propaganda chief Josef Goebbels in 1943 and “even wrote a eulogy to Hitler saying he was fighting for humanity,” Lieberman said.
“I was shocked to discover that the Norwegian government had decided to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Hamsun,” the ultra-nationalist minister said.
Lieberman had no qualms about his general tendency towards authoritarian politics, of course. Probably because he shares them.
Though Hamsun’s politics are known and were widely condemned in Norway, the government commemorated the Nobel Prize-winning writer with a postage stamp.
This also inspired Lieberman to remind Norway it was one of the few countries which did not walk out of a UN racism conference in Geneva in April during the speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Denmark, you’re next. And no Mohammad cartoon controversy will save you.
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Who says "Scandinavian countries" are known for all that shit? The Swedes were enthusiastic nazis and allies of Germany during World War II. If you want to pass moral judgments on the relative values of other cultures, that's your business, but don't go acting like your crazy notions are universally accepted, Will. At the end of the day, you are still the head nutter on an extremist website. Never forget that! You can be sure no-one else will ;p
Posted by programmer craig | August 25, 2009, 12:58 am" Will. At the end of the day, you are still the head nutter on an extremist website. "
And you P. Craig are a stinking mouthpiece for today's Nazis engaged in Genocide.
Posted by Chauncey | August 25, 2009, 5:06 pmSince Sweden is leading the EU this semester Israel probably saw an opportunity to discredit us and in the long run discredit EU and it's critique on Israel's policies, by putting an "anti-semite" stamp on us to point at whenever they feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately for the Israelis, they didn't know enough about Swedish law; The government is with very few exceptions allowed to comment on it's citizens' freedoms, including the freedom of the press. If the foreign minister Carl Bildt or anyone else in a leading position would have done so, it could (and probably would) lead to a very serious government crisis and ultimately a new election.
Regarding the article, there were no allegations of "organ-harvesting" put forth neither by the journalist who wrote it nor the paper it was published in. The allegations came from the palestinian families which the article was focusing on, families who lost their children to Israeli fire and later (according to the families), got their bodies delivered by the IDF, mutilated and disemboweled (and "harvested"). The author of the article does not suggest if this is true or not, and everyone with some kind of intelligence would look on these accusations as what they are; accusations from desperate people who have lost everything.
The IDF is known to sometimes do autopsies of killed "enemies" to determine the cause of death, as a part of military reports and the like. If I had lost my brother to war and later got his body delivered by his killers, sewn together from the neck to the scrotum, I would also make that kind of accusations, as would anyone. It's not hard to understand why the palestinian families would think that the Israelis did something else with their childrens' bodies; after all, if a body is riddled with bullet holes, why would you need to do an autopsy to establish the cause of death?
Sebastian (from Sweden)
ps. sorry about any language errors, english is not my first language
Posted by Sebastian | August 25, 2009, 6:38 amOh and programmer craig, please read up on Swedish history. The diplomat Raoul Wallenberg for example, saved thousands of jews in Hungary from the nazi death camps by, obviously with support from back home, issuing temporary swedish passports. Just one example of how much "enthusiastic nazis and allies of Germany" we were. Bah.
Posted by Sebastian | August 25, 2009, 6:53 amYeah, Sebastian… with all the Jews that every country in Europe claims to have saved, it's a wonder the math doesn't work out a bit different, isn't it? Maybe you should read some history books that weren't written in Sweden?
This isn't really a discussion I want to get into, but I personally get a bit tired of all these wonderful (and recent) European champions of human rights acting like things that happened a few decades ago are ancient history. Especially on a blog that focuses on Israel and Palestine, since obviously the Israelis and the Arabs do not consider the 1940s to be ancient history, right?
Posted by programmer craig | August 25, 2009, 3:42 pmWell, Craig, if that's not true, explain to me why they name streets after Raoul Wallenberg in Israel. Do they read our false Swedish history books in Israel as well?
Hey, maybe you should visit Sweden, so you can get a first hand look of a country you obviously know nothing about. I could give you a tour and introduce you to some jewish friends of mine, who's ancestors were rescued to Sweden by people like Wallenberg, and you could explain to them what really happened, since you seem to know better. I'll invite their grand parents too.
Posted by Sebastian | August 26, 2009, 8:33 amSebastian, there were Germans who helped Jews escape during World War II as well… what does that mean?
And anyone who is as anxious to prove he isn't a bigot as you seem to be… dude, you guys aren't very sophisticated over there are you? You want to introduce people to your colored friends so they know you aren't a bigot eh? :p
Posted by programmer craig | August 26, 2009, 9:44 amSo all of a sudden our history books were right about Wallenberg? Interesting. Well, anyhow the germans who helped jews certainly did not get any help from their government to do so.
Since you seem like a very bright guy (programmer and all) I will rest my case, with your logic I guess I am a bigot for trying to convince you that your picture about the enthusiastic nazi swedes are quite far from the reality. As a swede I guess I've been brainwashed my whole life, which feels quite overwhelming I must say. Good thing that people like you, that probably can't even point out Sweden on a map, can tell me about what my people's views were during WW2.
And yes, of course I'm anxious to prove that I'm not a bigot; anyone who tries to maintain a humanist view of the Israel-Palestine conflict have to do that all the time, thanks to people like you. Things that I on the other hand don't do, is to make up stuff to support my opinions, because I don't have to.
Cheers
Posted by Sebastian | August 26, 2009, 1:07 pmThere's no point reasoning with Programmer Craig. In his world, anyone who criticises Israel, is akin to Hitler himself
Posted by Shafiq | August 27, 2009, 12:08 pmWell, the Norway thing is a bit weird. In general I think governments commemorating individuals who openly and actively support(ed) genocide, and generally evil sort of things, is a bit weird even if those individuals have done other great things. It's just awkward.
But the condemnation coming from Lieberman doesn't mean much considering how the man's a bit of a bigot, ja? Das ist reich.
Posted by SanaKF | August 25, 2009, 6:48 amI think the only winner here is the Swedish media market, where Israel would spend millions making ads and infomericals about how awsome Israel is. Let them spend more money…but money cannot buy me love
Posted by Hanitizer | August 25, 2009, 1:04 pmFreedom of Speech: the liberty to say and to express one's voice and views granted to citizens of democratic and free societies, without any fear of retaliation or punishment and which only Muslims condemn
Great article Will!
Posted by Los | August 25, 2009, 5:21 pmElsewhere in the media two statements have occurred. 1That there is minister in the Swedish government that can judge whether a statement in the press is inciting aginst a particular group. 2That the Palestinian families that were alleged to have claimed the organ theft have REFUTED that allegation.
Freedom of speech is also subject to laws of slander and libel. Freedom checks and balances. There is an adage that your freedom ends where my nose begins. One does not have to be fluent in English to understand the above.
Posted by cynic8 | August 25, 2009, 6:39 pm"after its leading paper, Aftonbladet,"
HAHAHAHAHA
Aftonbladet is a TABLOID paper.
Posted by Sarah | August 25, 2009, 11:19 pmSebastian, your claim that "there were no allegations of "organ-harvesting" put forth neither by the journalist who wrote it nor the paper it was published in. The allegations came from the palestinian families which the article was focusing on…" is NOT borne out at all. I give here a link to the translation of the article (which has a link to the original one). The claims that Israel is in need of organs and that bodies of Palestinians are returned to families stitches up and missing organs are not given in quotes or as part of the families' stories; they are claims the journalists make.
http://www.tlaxcala.es/pp.asp?reference=8390&…
But I agree with those who think that this is a tabloid and should be treated as such, and that the Swedish (or any) government shouldn't intervene as long as there is no incitement for hate or violence against Jews and Israelis. But we all know that the contents of articles like this one become true after a few journalists and activists state them as such. Yes, Israel has over-reacted to the tabloid's article, but in the war of versions and information, this is what one should do. However, the comparison to the Nazis and the evocation of anti-Semitism is completely unnecessary.
Posted by Salty Mac | August 26, 2009, 4:53 pmMac, I do think that my claim is correct, except that I forgot to also mention that UN personnel also made these allegations. You could definitely accuse him of using these people as messengers for his own claims. But fact is that he himself never mentions organ theft.
I absolutely think that the judgement of the journalist who wrote this can be questioned, since he obviously knew what kind of reactions he would get (not on this scale though). And I don't think that the organ thefts ever happened. But don't make it to something it isn't.
Posted by Sebastian | August 26, 2009, 5:40 pmAlison Weir wrote on the issue:
http://counterpunch.com/weir08282009.html
Posted by Arayus | August 28, 2009, 9:00 pmAlison Weir wrote on the issue:
http://counterpunch.com/weir08282009.html
Posted by Arayus | August 28, 2009, 9:00 pmAlright, I'd like to point out a few things:
1. Sweden was never an ally of Nazi Germany. They were a neutral country. I'm a Norwegian, and Norwegians can be very critical of Sweden and its role during WWII, but it's important to not re-write history.
2. I freely admit I haven't read the article on organ harvesting in the Swedish newspaper. I only heard about this through my mother, who must've picked it up on the national TV news here. I can't comment on the validity of this claim, as I don't know the truth, but freedom of speech includes the chance of being wrong. It includes being responsible for yourself and for the words that are written or spoken in your name. Under no circumstance, should the authorities tell free news media what to print or not to print.
3. In Norway, Knut Hamsun is a very controversial man, for his extremist political views. Hardly anyone supports these views. Still, he's honoured for his literary work, not for his highly questionable political opinions. There has been a storm of debates and anger and frustration in Norway, over the commemoration of Hamsun. Debate is good. We need to be able to discuss controversial people, and we need to be able to voice our opinions, which many people have. Many have protested against the commemoration. Several municipialities have decided to not commemorate Hamsun due to his extremist political views. In Norway, everything isn't all black and white.
Finally, I'd like to add that Israel had a Prime Minister who was a terrorist (Menachem Begin, former Irgun terrorist), who killed British subjects. Yet, many if not most Israelis would have no problem honouring Begin. Many Israelis also honour Meir Kahane, another Israeli terrorist. Knut Hamsun may have had some very bad political views, but he never set of bombs in markeplaces or hung anyone, like the Irgun did.
Posted by Erik | August 30, 2009, 10:52 pm