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The Aftonbladet-Israel controversy refers to an article in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet that implied that the Israeli Defense Force stole organs from dead Palestinians in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This evolved into a diplomatic controversy involving Aftonbladet, Sweden, Israel, and members of many Jewish communities around the world. According to the Aftonbladet and the Swedish government the article is a valid manifestation of freedom of the press. According to the Israeli government and some Jewish groups, the article's allegations are akin to ancient antisemitic blood libels against Jews and should not have been published, or at least be denounced. Suspicions that organs were taken from Palestinian bodies held by the IDF first emerged during the First Intifada, but have never been investigated. Following the publication of the Aftonbladet article, the Palestinian Authority announced it would establish an inquiry commission to investigate the claims.
The Aftonbladet article by Donald Boström
In August, 2009 the Aftonbladet ran an article by freelance writer Donald Boström on its culture pages. The article opened by mentioning the arrests related to a suspected money laundering and organ trafficking operation involving rabbis, politicians, and civil servants in New Jersey, USA. Briefly introducing the problem of the illegal organ trade worldwide, Boström then related things he heard and saw during his stay in the Palestinian territories in 1992 at the time of the First Intifada.
A photograph accompanying the article depicted a cadaver with a line of stitches on the torso, identified as that of Bilal Ghanem, 19 years old when he was killed by IDF soldiers on May 13, 1992. The Ghanem family was not interviewed for his article, but Boström described his impressions of Ghanem's burial, which he attended:
Together with the sharp noises from the shovels we could hear laughter from the soldiers who, as they waited to go home, exchanged some jokes. As Bilal was put in the grave his chest was uncovered. Suddenly it became clear to the few people present just what kind of abuse the boy had been exposed to. Bilal was not by far the first young Palestinian to be buried with a slit from his abdomen up to his chin.
The next paragraph of the article quotes other Palestinian families, and reads as follows:
The families in the West Bank and in Gaza felt that they knew exactly what had happened: “Our sons are used as involuntary organ donors,” relatives of Khaled from Nablus told me, as did the mother of Raed from Jenin and the uncles of Machmod and Nafes from Gaza, who had all disappeared for a number of days only to return at night, dead and autopsied.
“Why are they keeping the bodies for up to five days before they let us bury them? What happened to the bodies during that time? Why are they performing autopsy, against our will, when the cause of death is obvious? Why are the bodies returned at night? Why is it done with a military escort? Why is the area closed off during the funeral? Why is the electricity interrupted?” Nafe’s uncle was upset and he had a lot of questions.
Boström also writes that unnamed UN staff members told him that "organ theft definitely occurred", but that they were "prevented from doing anything about it." He also reports the response of the IDF spokesperson as being that the allegations of organ theft were lies, and that all Palestinian victims are subjected to autopsy on a routine basis. Boström notes that according to Palestinian statistics for 1992, Bilal Ghanem was one of 133 Palestinians killed, and one of 69 who went through postmortem examination. He concludes his article with by expressing his opinion that the questions surrounding what is happening remain unanswered and should be investigated.
Israeli reactions
Government
The claim in the article sparked an angry reaction by Israeli Foreign Ministry official Yigal Palmor who associated the article with the medieval blood libel. On August 23, the Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, called for the Swedish government to condemn the article. An Israeli official quoted him as saying: "We're not asking the Swedish government for an apology, we're asking for their condemnation." The Israeli Finance Minister, Yuval Steinitz, said that a continued Swedish refusal to condemn the article, might lead Israel to cancel a visit, scheduled for September, by the Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt. Steinitz told the Israel Army Radio that "Whoever doesn't distance himself from this kind of blood libel might not be a welcome guest in Israel at this time. Until the Swedish government understands differently, the state of Israel, the state of the Jews, cannot ignore anti-Semitic expressions and modern recycling of medieval anti-Semitism". The Israeli Government Press Office, which accredits foreign journalists visiting the country, said it was delaying its approval for an Aftonbladet correspondent and photographer who are seeking permission to enter the Gaza Strip by the maximum ninety days allowed by regulations.
Netanyahu said that history was replete with Blood libel against Jews that have led to the murder and that "These matters cannot be taken lightly. We are not asking from the Swedes anything that we did not ask of ourselves".He reminded his ministers that in February, 2009 after a satirical skit on the Israeli Channel 10 which poked fun at the Christian belief that Jesus walked on water and Mary was a virgin had angered the Vatican, then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret and sorrow for it. Netanyahu commented: "I don't recall that Olmert's condemnation damaged press freedom in Israel". The Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman told Army Radio: "What angers us is that the Swedish government didn't condemn it but hastened to reprimand the ambassador who did find it right to condemn this blood libel, which recalls the Dreyfus Affair." He also compared the article to "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," an anti-Semitic tract purporting to show a global Jewish conspiracy which was widely cited by Hitler and others. He accused Sweden of hypocrisy and the affair has "an odor of anti-Semitism." and noted the Swedish condemnation of the Muhammed cartoons affair in 2005, as well as Sweden's shutting down of an Internet site in the country that posted the caricatures and the Swedish foreign minister letter of apology to the president of Yemen for it. He criticized Sweden for its silence earlier in 2009, when the city of Malmö decided not to allow spectators to a Davis Cup match between Sweden and Israel.
The Israeli Interior Minister, Eli Yishai, said that he would act to prevent Aftonbladet reporters from receiving work permits in Israel, and the Welfare and Social Services Minister, Isaac Herzog said that Israel should take legal steps against the paper. When asked why Israel did not investigate the article's claims, Israel's envoy to Sweden, Benny Dagan, said: "Why don't we investigate why the Mossad and the Jews were behind the bombing of the twin towers? Why won't we investigate why Jews are spreading AIDS in the Arab countries? Why won't we investigate why Jews killed Christian children and took their blood and organs to bake matzot on Pessah?".
Media
Gideon Levy, writing in Ha'aretz, criticized Boström for not engaging in documentation, investigation and the presentation of proof. He noted that, "There were cases in which the organs of Palestinians who had been killed were harvested without permission, something the Institute of Forensic Medicine has done to others in Israel, for research purposes. But it's a long way from that to suspicion of trafficking in organs based only on the fact that in 1992 a dead Palestinian was found whose organs had been removed and his body sewn back up. And 17 years later a few Jews were arrested on suspicion of trafficking in human organs. That's not professional journalism, that's cheap and harmful journalism."
Maariv published an article “ Swedish Foreign Ministry Financed “study” of Stealing the Organs} in which it said : “Most of the story presented in Aftonbladet has been written in Boström's 2001 book “Inshallah” which was financed by Swedish Foreign Ministry, Swedish trade unions and several Palestinian organizations
Haaretz claimed Avigdor Lieberman’s reaction was “no less outrageous or inciting.” Accusing him of overreaction editorial said: “Lieberman's impassioned and demagogic reaction has damaged Israel. It cheapened the Holocaust, blew the article out of proportion and caused an international uproar, pushing Sweden - which currently holds the presidency of the European Union - into an unnecessary confrontation with Israel.”
Civil society
Former diplomat Colette Avital said that Sweden should know that there is a difference between freedom of the press and freedom of opinion, certainly that of journalists, “freedom of expression is not unlimited, even in that beautiful northern country:” She also criticized Israeli official and media reactions as “blown out of all reasonable proportion.“ She criticized the Israeli Foreign Minister for voicing “ridiculous and ultimately harmful threats” that the Swedish minister's visit might be canceled, or that Swedish journalists will be refused entry into the country .
Swedish reactions
Government
Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier, the Swedish ambassador to Israel, strongly condemned the article, stating: "The article in the Swedish newspaper is shocking and terrifying for us Swedish, as it influences the Israeli citizens... The embassy can not emphasize more its disgust." The Swedish foreign ministry and the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt distanced themselves from the ambassador's statement and underlined that Sweden is a democracy with freedom of press, and that state representatives should not comment on individual articles in newspapers.
Mårten Schultz, senior lecturer in jurisprudence, thought that the appeals to freedom of speech were, "attempts to use the rhetorically convincing status of the freedom of expression and press legislation in order to pursue a political agenda," and exhorted politicians and journalists to bring out and read the Freedom of the Press Act before they say what the government is not entitled to do. The Office of the Councellor of Justice said that, although, the government can not criticize the decision to publish, they might go further in its criticism of the article without violating the Constitution then they had, although that might be "inappropriate". The literal words by the Councellor of Justice, Göran Lambertz, were, according to the Swedish news agency Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå: "It is not completely clear where the limits are. There is rather a lot one may do, according to the constitution, even if it were to be regarded as politically and legally inappropriate."
On September 6, 2009, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt announced the cancellation of a trip he planned to make to Israel September 11. There was some speculation in Israel and elsewhere that this was related to the Aftonbladet controversy. However, Swedish officials denied this.
Legal complaints
The Swedish Chancellor of Justice, the sole attorney in enforcing violations to the conventions regarding freedom of the press (and freedom of expression) and the ombudsman on supervising government action, have received two written requests asking for investigation into the matter. The first to asked the chancellor to judge whether the article "really would include anything that brings it beyond what the freedom of press allows - for example constitute hate speech." The second asked him to open an errand of supervision regarding the Swedish ambassador's statements, and on a principal level explain what a ambassador officially can express on behalf of the high office and the country. Aftonbladet was acquitted of all charges.
Nils Funcke, an Swedish journalist and author focusing on the Swedish constitution, is predicting that the Swedish ambassador to Israel will be criticized for her initiative. The question, he asks, is how sharp the criticism will be and how the government reacts. Although he has deep concerns regarding the quality of journalism in the article, he claims that it is "unthinkable" that the chancellor's office will take on legal actions regarding its contents.
Donald Boström and Aftonbladet Reaction
The author of the article, Donald Boström, spoke to Israel Radio on 19 August 2009 and said he was worried by the allegations he reported: "It concerns me, to the extent that I want it to be investigated, that's true. But whether it's true or not — I have no idea, I have no clue." Boström told CNN that the purpose of his article was to call for an investigation into the claims about stealing organs in the early 1990s. In an interview to the Arab media site Menassat, Boström said there was "no conclusive evidence" that organ harvesting was a systematic IDF practice, but that there is a "collection of allegations and suspicious circumstances". He was quoted as saying: "The point is that we know there is organ trafficking in Israel. And we also know that there are families claiming that their children's organs have been harvested. These two facts together point to the need for further investigation". Aftonbladet's editor, Jan Helin, said in response to the accusations: "I'm not a Nazi,I'm not anti-Semitic", and described himself as "a responsible editor who gave the green light to an article because it raises a few questions" but noted that , however, that Aftonbladet had no evidence that Israel practices organ harvesting. Aftonbladet published a follow-up to Boström's article, which defended his report and said that the organ-harvesting allegation "should be investigated, either to stop the relentless Palestinian rumors, or, if the rumors prove to be true, stop the trade in body parts". It called Bonnier's condemnation of the original article a "disgrace".
Boström told Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot: "I am not an anti-Semite, and that's what saddens me most in this whole story. I've been a journalist for 25 years and I've always written against racism and segregation". He said that he had not meant to imply that IDF soldiers were killing Palestinians for their organs, and that "Even the Palestinians don't say that. What they said is that when the Israeli army returned the bodies, 62 of them had been autopsied and 20 Palestinian families I spoke to were certain that their sons' organs had been harvested". He admitted he had no evidence of organ harvesting, since the bodies that were returned to the families were never examined to determine whether organs had been taken: "As far as I know no one examined the bodies. All I'm saying is that this needs to be investigated". He also said that "Sweden supports Israel as a country and a people, and I am a part of this. There are many people, I among them, who condemn the Israeli government's policy of occupation and violation of international law. Israel needs to withdraw to its borders and evacuate the settlements. If Israel does this, support for you will reappear".
Helle Klein from Aftonbladet responded to Israel's allegations that the article constitutes a blood libel as follows:
"The Israeli reactions to Aftonbladet's article about illegal trading in organs break records for exaggeration... The harsh tones from the Israeli side do not benefit the State of Israel... How should the Israeli government's behaviour be understood? It's about realpolitic... The Israeli government is one of the most extremely right-wing in the country's history and Foreign Minister Lieberman has had a cool reception in both the USA and the EU... Lieberman and Netanyahu need an external enemy to blame to unite domestic opinion... and Aftonbladet's article was a chance for the Israeli government to demonstrate its ability to act against alleged anti-Semitism."
Other media
The Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan criticized Aftonbladet for publishing for what it called, "an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory." Henrik Bredberg in Sydsvenskan said:
"Donald Boström publicised a variant of an anti-Semitic classic, the Jew who abducts children and steals their blood... The regrettable aspects just seem to grow and grow... the Israeli government rages and speaks of an article which 'shames Swedish democracy and the entire Swedish press'. Hardly. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are part of democracy... Dare to believe in freedom of the press and open debate. Even when individual editors make stupid and tasteless decisions."
Bredberg also said:
"The Foreign Ministry has made it clear that Swedish freedom of the press applies. Good. Aftonbladet should not be given the unwarranted glory of martyrdom... Publication seems to represent an obvious lack of judgment. Unfortunately the lack of judgment did not stop there. The Swedish ambassador in Tel Aviv... attacked the article and thereby created the impression that having views about or intervening in individual publications should be a task for the government and its representatives."
Several political commentators pointed out that Sweden holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union at the time of this dispute. From an Israeli point of view, they say, discrediting Sweden as anti-semitic may be a way to prevent European criticism of Israel's Middle East policies.
Civil society
Lena Posner-Korosi, a leader of Sweden's Jewish community, criticized Israel's official response to Boström's article, stating in an interview with the Israeli army radio that the Israeli reaction and media outrage had provided the claims with much more exposure than they would have had otherwise, and blown the story out of proportion.
Anders Carlberg, the outgoing chairman of the Jewish Community in Gothenburg, Sweden, said Israel should have responded by publishing a rebuttal. "The stance of the community in general is that it's strange that this has become a government issue at all," Carlberg said. "It falls along the lines of Voltaire: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it."
Dror Feiler, chairman of Jews for Israeli-Palestinian Peace and European Jews for a Just Peace argued that the Israeli government had failed to present the autopsy reports and debunk the story, because it was in Israel's interest that the story lives on.
Mattias Gardell, an expert on religious extremism and religious racism, writes that it it is well known that Israeli spokespersons and self-appointed friends of Israel routinely try to obfuscate the issue by playing the antisemitism card.
Palestinian reactions
Palestinian Authority
On Sept. 3, 2009, the Palestinian Authority (PA) announced the formation of an inter-ministerial panel to investigate allegations that the Israeli military “stole organs” from Palestinian detainees. The secretary general of the PA Council of Ministers, Dr Hassan Abu Libdeh, said that, if true, the alleged events would constitute violations of human rights. The PA's ministers of Health, Interior, and Foreign Affairs, and senior officials from each ministry would, he said, sit on the commission.
Ghanem family and relatives
According to The Jerusalem Post, Jalal Ghanem, the brother of Bilal Ghanem whose photograph acompanied Boström's article, could not confirm the allegations made by the Aftonbladet. Jalal said that Bilal was evacuated by the IDF in a helicopter after being shot. His corpse was delivered to the family a few days later, and that there were stitches on Bilal's body that ran from the chest down to the bottom of the abdomen, and that his teeth were missing. Jalal also said the only time the family saw the Swedish photographer was at Bilal's funeral when he photographed the event. Their mother denied having told any foreign journalist that her son's organs had been stolen, but said that she does not rule out the possibility that Israel was harvesting organs of Palestinians. Another relative of the family, Ibrahim Ghanem, said the family never told the Swedish photographer that Israel had stolen organs from Bilal's body, and speculated that, "Maybe the journalist reached that conclusion on the basis of the stitches he saw on the body." He also said that the family does not know if the organs were removed because they never had their own autopsy conducted.
In another interview with Aftonbladet made one week after the original article, Jalal Ghanem and Bilals mother Saadega Ghanem still stood by their allegations and also claimed that Bilal was still alive when he was taken away. They also claimed that IDF soldiers tried to prevent journalists from taking pictures of the body.
Media
Palestinian journalist Khalid Amayreh reported in an article in Al-Ahram that prior accusations of organ harvesting had been made by representatives of the Palestinian Authority, including by the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Amayreh noted that no genuine investigation had ever been carried out into the Palestinian allegations of unauthorized organ harvesting, even though these allegations date back to before the 1990s.
Jonathan Cook, a British journalist working in Israel / Palestine, noted that many Western journalists, himself included, had heard such rumors, but none before Boström had written about them. Cook wrote that, " the families making the claims were not given a hearing in the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the first Intifada, when most of the reports occurred, and are still being denied the right to voice their concerns today. Israel's sensitivity to the allegation of organ theft appears to trump the genuine concerns of families about possible abuse of their loved ones."
Civil society
In September 2009, hundreds of Palestinians attended a conference marking the "national day for the return of the bodies of martyrs" in Nablus. Palestinian organizations say Israel is holding the bodies of 275 Palestinians and refusing to return them to their families. Following the conference, Mohammad Barakeh, a Palestinian Member of Israel's Knesset, made a connection between the missing bodies and the article in Aftonbladet, saying, "Israel has maintained its reputation and alerted the entire world to the Swedish article. They claim that what was published there could not be true ... The burden of proof falls on Israel, and as long as it refuses to say what the status of the bodies is or return them, it is hiding something awful."
Reactions from elsewhere
Iran
The Iranian state newspaper Kayhan quoted Arab reporter Kusar Aslam, who claims to have been stationed in Gaza and the West Bank for 22 years, as saying: "Since the early 1970s the Israelis have snatched thousands of Palestinian bodies from hospitals in the territories and transferred them to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute", and that "My personal experience verifies the report published by (Donald) Boström". She said that the IDF kidnapped living Palestinians: "I personally witnessed Israeli soldiers and army vehicles snatching Palestinian bodies from emergency rooms. In other instances I saw soldiers follow Palestinians to cemeteries with the intent of stealing bodies before they were buried. This became so widespread that many people began to bury those murdered by IDF forces near their homes – in the yard or under a tree".
Syria
Syrian President Bashar Assad's spokeswoman, Bouthaina Shaaban, praised Boström's article in Asharq Al-Awsat and said Israel "should be put on trial" for its "criminal acts". She claimed there was a connection between the violation of Palestinian corpses claimed by Boström and the accused Israeli-American organ-trafficking ring whose members were indicted in New Jersey, USA, in July 2009.
Yossi Levy, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's spokesman said Shaaban's praise for the article should be a "warning light" for the Swedish government which "unfortunately has still not fully and courageously condemned the article."
The US
In a letter to the Swedish prime minister, Congressmen Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Elton Gallegly (R-CA), members on the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, wrote:. "Given the far-reaching implications for this article, which raises the unfortunate specter of similar blood libels and spurious charges that have been directed at Jews throughout the centuries, it is critical that your government unequivocally repudiate and reject the heinous allegations expressed in this article," "It is essential that this vitriolic article not be used by anti-Semites, anti-Israel advocates, and extremists as an excuse to commit acts of violence and terrorism against the Jewish community in Sweden or internationally,? the letter stated.
Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of U.S. Helsinki Commission, released a press release that urged European Foreign ministers to denounce the Aftonbladet article. He said "We at the U.S. Helsinki Commission are dedicated to upholding human rights, particularly freedom of the press. But with freedom of the press comes responsibility. And when major press outlets fail to meet their responsibility, and instead raise the specter of racism or anti-Semitism, then public officials are duty bound to speak out and condemn such blatant falsehoods. I commend Sweden’s Ambassador to Israel for fulfilling this duty, and I call on the Swedish Government, which currently holds the European Union Presidency, to support Italian and other EU efforts to denounce this harmful reporting."
Co-Chairman of US Helsinki Commission US Senator Alcee Hastings (D-FL) said: "This incendiary article draws on age old anti-Semitic imagery, and attempts to place it in a modern context of worrisome hostility in Europe towards both Jews and Israel. Government leaders must demand the press act with journalistic integrity and report responsibly, particularly when it can incite the violent potential of anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred."
Abraham H. Foxman, the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith said the ADL lodged a complaint with the Swedish embassy in Washington. "Such unfounded rumors -- of Jews ‘poisoning the wells’ and carrying out acts of ritual murder—have been in the playbook of anti-Semites through the centuries, and continue to be believed in parts of the Arab world and elsewhere to this day. What could Mr. Boström and the editors who ushered this article into print have been thinking?” The letter stated: “This article represents nothing less than a base recycling of the medieval blood libel in which Jews were charged with killing Christian children for their alleged ritual use,"
Reporters Without Borders
The Reporters Without Borders expressed grief over Israels decision to go after the Swedish government for a condemnation. "Regardless of the article’s content and although we understand the public outcry if has triggered in Israel, the Israeli authorities must refrain from asking their Swedish counterparts to intervene," they said, "Aftonbladet alone is responsible for the articles it publishes. The Swedish government is not responsible."
Italy
In an interview with Haa'rez on August 31, the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini, said that he had recently met with Bildt, and that the two of them agreed that at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers later the following week, they would work to pass a resolution making it clear that the EU, under the Swedish presidency, strongly condemns anti-Semitism and will take action against any manifestation of it in Europe. Frattini said he was intending to demand that the meeting's summary statement explicitly condemn the article.
Later that day, the Swedish news agency TT quoted Carl Bildt as denying the Frattini's conclusion, and reported that the head of communications at the Swedish Foreign Ministry, Cecilia Julin, denied that Bildt and Frattini even had discussed the dispute, or a possible resolution at the Council of Ministers. Julin said: "From the Swedish side we have no plans to handle this question through the informal foreign ministers' meeting in Stockholm". According to her, Bildt suggested that Frattini's comment must have arisen through an "Italian misunderstanding". Reinfeldt also insisted that the Swedish government could not take a stand because of Sweden's freedom of the press. At a press conference in Stockholm, he said: "We cannot be asked by anyone to contravene the Swedish constitution, and this is something we will also not do within the European Union".
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not comment on Frattini's initiative. However, Palmor said: "Every initiative against anti-Semitism is welcome. But if the declaration is general and does not specifically relate to the article in Aftonbladet, it will not resolve anything". He added that "We did not ask for an apology, or for measures against the newspaper or the journalist. All we asked of Sweden and the Swedes is that they reject and decry the content of the report. And our position has not changed".
See also
- Snow White and The Madness of Truth
- Zahra's Blue Eyes
- Israel–Sweden relations
- Organ donation in Israel
- Organ harvesting / Organ theft
- Blood libel against Jews
- Race card
References
- ^ Jonathan Cook (September 3–9, 2009). "But did it happen?".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help); Text "accessdae2009-09-06" ignored (help)CS1 maint: date format (link) - Ali Waked (September 3, 2009). "PA to probe 'IDF organ harvesting'". Retrieved 2009-09-07.
- ^ Horrid beyond words by Khalid Amayreh, published in Al-Ahram
- ^ Original article in Swedish: Aftonbladet, August 17, 2009: ”Våra söner plundras på sina organ”, Aftonbladet: "Our sons are plundered of their organs". (third party translation: Aftonbladet: "Our sons are plundered of their organs".)
- ^ Abu Toameh, Khaled (24 August 2009 Updated 25 August 2009). "Palestinian family: We didn't say organs taken". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Macdonald, Alastair (19 August 2009). "Israel slams Swedish tabloid's organ theft story". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- The Associated Press (2009-08-23). "Netanyahu Wants Sweden to Condemn Organ Story". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- ^ Keinon, Herb (2009-08-23). "Ministers fume over Swedish story". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- Gideon Levy (August 27, 2009). "Swedish article on organ harvesting was cheap and harmful journalism". Ha'aretz. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- Swedish Foreign Ministry Financed “study” of Stealing the Organs| Maariv
- Jpost.com Staff (August 23, 2009). "'Swedish officials may be unwelcome'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- A bewildering response[http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1109448.html[
- International china shop, Israeli bull
- http://www.mako.co.il/news-military/israel/Article-7d5089fd8323321004.htm
- Bildt, Carl. "Principer och praktik" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-08-21.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - Mårten Schultz: Inget grundlagshinder för att kritisera Aftonbladet ("No constitutional ban on criticism of Aftonbladet") Newsmill.se, 24 augusti 2009.
- Lag tillåter hårdare artikelkritik TT, August 25, 2009. ("Law allows tougher criticism of article") Template:Sv icon
- Sweden's free speech tradition runs into Israeli ire by Igor Gedilaghine for Agence France Presse
- Andén, Axel (25 August 2009). "Två JK-anmälningar efter Aftonbladets artikel om organhandel" (in Swedish). Mediavärlden. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - Aftonbladet: Publiceringen är inte antisemitisk ("The publishing is not antisemitic")
- Funcke, Nils (31 August 2009). "Nils Funcke: Aftonbladet kritiserades för tidigt" (in Swedish). Mediavärlden. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - Friedman, Matti (19 August 2009). "Israel furious over Swedish newspaper article". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- Swedish paper's organ harvesting article draws Israeli outrage, cnn. accessed 24 August 2009.
- "'Aftonbladet' editor admits no evidence on organ-harvesting". The Jerusalem Post. 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- Gur, Yonatan (2009-08-24). "Swedish editor: I'm not a Nazi". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ BBC News, August 24, 2009: Israeli and Swedish on organ row
- Berthelsen, Morten (19 August 2009). "Swedish newspaper 'blood libel' sparks harsh condemnation". Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
- Sydsvenskan, August 24 2009: Political strategy behind Sweden-bashing
- Dagens Nyheter, August 24, 2009: Ordförandeskapet i EU störs av Israels ordkrig ("Presidency disturbed by Israel's verbal assault") Template:Sv icon
- Dagen, August 25, 2009: Arne Lapidus: Att slagkraftigt angripa verkliga och inbillade fiender ger ofta inrikespolitiska pluspoäng ("All-out attacks on real and imagined enemies often lead to gains in domestic politics") Template:Sv icon
- "'Those who don't condemn Swedish story may not be welcome'". Jerusalem Post. 2009-08-23. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
- "Debatt" episode shown on the 27th August 2009 on SVT1 09.49 Template:Sv icon
- Aftonbladet: Okunnigt om antisemitism Template:Sv icon
- Ma'an News, "High level PA panel to investigate 'organ theft' claims", Sept. 3, 2009.
- http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article5680904.ab
- Sharon Roffe Ofir (September 8, 2009). "Barakeh justifies organs trafficking claims: Hadash chairman says he has 'right to question why Israel is keeping bodies of Palestinian martyrs'". Retrieved 2009-09-08.
- Cohen, Dudi (2009-09-01). "Iranian reporter: Swedish article on IDF organ harvesting 'credible'". Ynetnews. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- This needs a direct source! As it is here it is 2nd-hand from the J. Post, as footnoted in next graf.
- Keinon, Herb (2009-09-03). "Spanish paper turns to Irving for WWII 'expertise'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-09-05.
- [ http://csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContentRecords.ViewDetail&ContentRecord_id=803&ContentRecordType=P&ContentType=P&CFID=18960450&CFTOKEN=82376781]
- ^ CARDIN, HASTINGS CALL ON EUROPEAN LEADERS TO DENOUNCE ANTI-SEMITIC ARTICLE IN SWEDISH PRESS
- Press Release|ADL
- European Jewish Press
- Swedish government refuses to condemn national newspaper’s perceived libel Reporters Without Borders 25 August 2009
- ^ Primor, Adar (2009-08-31). "Following inflammatory article, Sweden to demand EU condemn anti-Semitism". Haaretz. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
- Keinon, Herb (2009-08-31). "Bildt says no plan to condemn anti-Semitism". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
External links
Video
- Organ trade scandal: "Palestinians are compulsive liars" published in Russia Today - including video with discussion between Dr. Mordachai Kedar and Daniel Boström