Schlaglicht Israel Nr. 14/09 Aktuelles aus israelischen Tageszeitungen 10. – 29. August 2009 1. Kontroverse um schwedischen Artikel Seit Mitte August sorgt ein Artikel, der in der schwedischen Boulevardzeitung Aftonbladet er­schienen ist, in Israel für Empörung. Darin hatte der Journalist Donald Boström behauptet, israelische Soldaten hätten Palästinenser getötet, um Handel mit deren Organen zu betreiben. Der israelische Außenminister Avigdor Lieberman kritisierte die schwedische Regierung scharf und verlangte eine öffentliche Verurteilung des Artikels. Stattdessen distanzierte sie sich von einem Brief der schwedischen Botschafterin in Israel, in dem diese den Artikel verurteilt hatte. Außenminister Bildt berief sich auf die Pressefreiheit und wies darauf hin, dass es nicht Sache der Regierung sei, diese zu beschränken. In Israel wurde indes in Erwägung gezogen, Repor­tern des Blattes die Akkreditierung zu verweigern und den geplanten Israelbesuch Bildts zu ver­schieben. In Sweden, silence is golden “The article's author Donald Boström freely admits that he has no evidence of any of his allegations but says it is up to Jews and Israelis to prove themselves innocent. An interesting if not entirely original twist- Jews are guilty until they prove themselves innocent. The basic tenets of democracy do not appear to be familiar to either Boström or Aftonbladet.[…] This is no one-off phenomenon.[…] The results of media distortion and constant demonizing of Jews and Israelis are felt in Sweden all the time[…]. Other aspects of Swedish silence that are equally worrying[…]. Sweden is one of the world's largest per capita donors to Palestinian Arab welfare. This funding comes in the form of tax revenues paid dutifully by hard-working Swedes.[…] [Swedish Foreign Minister Carl] Bildt has every reason to be tight-lipped. Talking would put Sweden's decades-old policy of selective silence in jeopardy. There's too much at stake if people start asking questions. Swedes might start demanding that some of their tax money be spent on their own welfare rather than on Palestinians.” Ilya Meyer, JPO 23.08.09 How childish are we? “The so-called‘investigative report’ published by the Swedish Aftonbladet was, needless to say, ridiculously false. Anyone with the intelligence of a child recognized this immediately, including many Swedish newspaper editors and reporters, who have denounced Aftonbladet for printing such unfounded nonsense. So why is Israel reacting like this? Left unheeded, the‘report’ would have withered and passed silently away.[…] In demanding that Swedish officials comment on the report, we are not only insulting their intelligence by asking them to stoop to the level of a tabloid; we are also insulting their values while implying anti-Semitic motives are at play- similarly to the tabloid publication itself, this is totally unfounded.[…] The most Israel can do now is to collectively drop the matter and issue a statement recognizing the Swedish government as friendly and devoid of anti­Semitism. Yes, Israel will be admitting to a mistake, which is ultimately the adult thing to do.” Adi Dvir, JED 24.08.09 Swedish blood libel “Initially, I thought this was an old‘investigative report’ sent to Nazi newspaper Der Sturmer that mistakenly made its way to Stockholm. Perhaps, I thought, it was the work of one of the thousands of ‘neutral’[Swedes] who volunteered to serve in the SS.[…] 1