Israel and Sweden row: Blog wars

[MikeWB]

Israel and Sweden row
Blog wars
Aug 27th 2009 | COPENHAGEN
From The Economist print edition

A Nordic newspaper's newsmaking

BARELY two months into its six-month presidency of the European Union, Sweden's government is entangled in a scrap with Israel. Because it pitches Swedes' cherished free-speech principles against Middle Eastern sensibilities, it is loaded with a wearying sense of déjà vu—and a potential to escalate.

It started on August 17th when Aftonbladet, a Swedish tabloid, published an incendiary article claiming that Israeli soldiers had harvested the organs of some Palestinians whom they had shot. Within hours, Israel's deputy foreign minister had denounced the article for racism and demanded that it be condemned by the Swedish government.

Sweden's ambassador in Tel Aviv obligingly called the article shocking. But she was countermanded by the Swedish foreign minister, Carl Bildt. Israel, he wrote in his blog, wanted the Swedish government to distance itself from the article or take steps to prevent a replication, but that was not how the country worked. This robust defence of freedom of expression was endorsed by the prime minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt.

Matters quickly deteriorated. An internet campaign called for a boycott of Swedish companies, including IKEA and Volvo. A planned official visit by Mr Bildt to Israel may be under threat. Lawsuits have begun. And Sweden stands accused by prominent Israelis, including the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, of blood libel and anti-Semitism.

This has uncomfortable echoes of Denmark's cartoon wars, started when a Danish newspaper published drawings of the prophet Muhammad in late 2005. Sweden's position as EU president leaves it exposed, even though it has in the past won much kudos with Israel. During the second world war, Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, saved thousands of Jews from the Nazi gas chambers and Sweden also sheltered Danish Jews.

Recent relations have been less smooth. Sweden's presidency plans included ambitions for an active EU role in the Middle East that Israel may not welcome. Early on, the Swedes ruffled Israeli feathers by calling the eviction of Palestinian families in east Jerusalem illegal under international law. Mr Netanyahu may have reasons of his own for stirring the pot. Next month will see a critical UN report on human-rights abuses during Israel's war on Gaza at the turn of the year. Causing a stink about absurd Swedish allegations could usefully tire people of the subject and muddle the details when they come out.