We ❤️ Israel

Last Sunday I participated in a rally by the Zionist Federation at Raoul Wallenberg's square in Stockholm. Main speaker was Yair Lapid, party leader for Yesh Atid ("There is a future") in Israel, one of the leading opposition parties. Concerning the name of the location Mr Lapid told us that his own father was one of the Jewish children saved by Raoul Wallenberg in Budapest. It wasn't very nice to listen to the counterdemonstrators shouting "boycot Israel" and "Israel, murderers". The message of Mr Lapid was also exactly what the sign above says: "We love Israel". Not AGAINST something, but IN FAVOUR of the Jews having their own country in the State of Israel. Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East and a country which at the same time having a lot of other traditions and influences still stands as a good representative of our western values such as Democracy, Human value and Freedom of Religion and of Speech.

 

What is striking when I recently wrote about Violent extremism is that of the three groups in Sweden identified by the Government accepting violence as a mean of activism, all three groups are in some way or another against the State of Israel. Sometimes it is a matter of antizionism but often simply antisemitism, that brings left wing extremists, right wing extremists and islamists.

 

Some say that they clearly defy antisemtism ("I have nothing against Jews"), but believe it as totally just being an antizionist. But what does that actally mean? Zionism is a movement for the establishment of a Jewish homeland (in Israel / Palestine), and after this homeland was established a support for this state, and a continuous work to support and help Jews who want to make "aliyah" / immigrate to Israel. 

 

If you are antizionist - does that mean that you do not beleive the State of Israel has the right to exist? In that case antizionism is almost as severe as antisemitism.

 

If the definition of antizionism on the other hand is criticism against the Government of Israel, their doings and policies, then you are partly on the same side as the opposition in Israel, for example the above mentioned Yair Lapid. But then this definition is wrong, which is illustrated by the name of the new big leftwing party in Israel - the Zionist Union which is a union (2014) between the former Labor-party, the Greens and Hatnuah with partyleader Tsipi Livni. "Zionism" is thus a broad ideology that most parties in Israel identify with.

The leader of my party, The Christian Democrats, Ebba Busch Thor also made a speech at the rally. (in an article in the paper Expressen she clarifies her participation - also see the interview). We all have to counter Antisemitism and antizionism in Sweden - if we do not manage to keep Clean in this area it is yet another example of the Value Crisis we currently see in Sweden, and the western World.
 

Ebba wrote an article in Dagens Nyheter this week and it is very important for us to start debate which values should govern Sweden - much of the confusion today is due to a lack of fundament on what is Right and what is Wrong.


During the Writing of this article I came across MP Haneen Zoabi - of "Balad". She is a good example of Israel being a very tolerant state with a well functioning democracy and full Human Rights for the Citizens. 

Being elected to the Knesset in 2009 she refused to participate in the singing of the national anthem Hatikvah at the opening ceremony, she is favoring the onestate-solution  (which oddly enough also the President of Israel, Reuven Rivlin advocates!), and she also participated in the Ship-to-Gaza convoy.

When truth turns into lie

A short study in the dramaturgy of the bloggosphere. After my two articles concerning the Ships to Gaza, I suddenly received a lot of strange comments about paintball-guns. After a day or so, I realized that the Swedish left-wing blog Alliansfrittsverige.nu had put me as one of four examples of "The tasteless reactions on the massacre by the right". They think it astonishing that I on my 'patriarchal blog' mean that the "israli soldiers came in peace with paint-ball-guns."

I can understand that someone not knowing the facts sees it as a natural contradiction that there has been a "massacre" using paintball-guns. And therefore these people automatically conludes that what I am writing is wrong and an example of "The tasteless reactions on the massacre by the right". My 'obvious lie' was spread as such on the internet (ex. Sundin & Homopoliticus), but why has noone tried to find out the facts?

I got the information last monday from my good friend Stefan Olsson, who is right now on the West Bank as an ecumenical accompanier (EAPPI). It was an article named "A brutal ambush at sea" which well describes what happened. That it was paint-ball-guns that where used has been confirmed from many others, including Swedish MP Mehmet Kaplan who where on one of the ships (SvD ). And also Ulf Carmesund.

The bloggosphere is a nice democratic project in some ways, at the same time there are a lot of strange things which are advocated and spread without any critical check-up or reflection. There are definately a need for a better ethical standard in the Internet. That truth turns inte lie is of course a general problem in our community, yes it is almost as if people tend to want to be fooled.

It is good that a number of facts lately has made known what kind of organisation IHH is (DN), who has initiated the trip, and more as a propaganda show than for humanitarian reasons. It is even more so tragic that the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt participates in this game and let Swedish extremists on the left set the standard for the Swedish foreign policy.

SvD 1,2,3,4 DN 1,2 Dagen 1,2 VG 1,2 Världen idag 1,2,3

Tragic result of 'peace convoy'

The peace-convoy did not reach its destination of the peaceloving Hamas-ruled Gaza-strip. The convoy showed itself not to be so peaceloving when Israeli soldiers put down on the deck of Mavi Marmaras were met with well-trained combattants with sticks and far from passive resistance. Equipped with paint-ball guns and with an ambition to avoid violence the IDF-group finally had to give in and use guns to defend themselves, seeing one of their friend being thrown down to the deck below.

Israel has been very clear that they will not allow the convoy to reach the blocked Hamas-ruled Gaza-strip. Instead they have offered to receive the material at the harbour of Ashdod for further delivery to the Gaza-strip. Of course one might question the blockade of Gaza, and the justice in boarding the convoy on international waters. But one has also to bear in mind that out of an Israeli perspective it is a matter of survival as a nation, floating like an Island in a sea of hatred. The reception on the Mavi Marmaras illustrates all to well the hatred against Israel which is now also shown in the squares and streets of Sweden and other countries.

DN 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Dagen 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 SvD 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 VG 1("hevn,hevn"),2,3

The Israeli government is right and wrong

The in Sweden so called Israel-affair is growing off limits, and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt is trying to defend his point in his blog. I beleive that you have to look at things out of two perspectives.

On one hand the Israeli Government, which is asking for an official apology by the Swedish government, and even wants to stop Swedish journalists from working in Israel (see Dagen, DN). One can definately understand the viewpoints of Israel. I would also react if someone accused me, or the Swedish army, to steal organs from assasinated enemies and sell them in the black market. Even if it is a kind of war going on, and palestinians are being killed that is far away from the idea of an army of a democratic state ripping corpses and selling the contents. This is definately an illustration of a demonization of Israel which in this case has reached even into the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. Anders Gerdmar, a theologian that I know has written about this, in Swedish, at Newsmill and he can really confirm this idea of demonization of Israel.

It is also a fact that Israel is a country in the Middle East. In the Middle East people do not express demselves as modestly as we do in Scandinavia! No, they react strongly and loudly, especially in a situation where you feel intimidated. We in Sweden often concider Israel a part of the Western world, but the greater part of the population is of oriental origin, or has at least grown up there. Therefor it is easy to see parallels (not in the level of violence though) to the reactions in the Middle East towards the Mohamed cartoons.

On the other hand I do agree with Carl Bildt and the Swedish government in the promotion of the Swedish freedom of press. The fact that Aftonbladet has published a badly underbuilt article which is an example of bad journalism deserves attacs in the public debate - even on the pages of Aftonbladet itself. Israel should objectively reproach the attac perhaps whith an article in Aftonbladet. Facts and objectivity will also win in the end - because it is the Truth that set us free!

The swedish government should pick up the work done by former Prime Minister Göran Persson and initiate a new Holocaust conference in Stockholm. This is suggested by Tomas Sandell, director of European coalition for Israel (ViD). There is definately need for a bettering of the Swedish reputation after this article in Aftonbladet, and the events concerning the Davis Cup-match in Malmö recently.

DN 1,2,3,4,5, SvD 1,2,3,4 Dagen 1,2,3