Strong reactions to Shaul Mofaz

Anna Wester, of the Palestine Solidarity Association of Sweden, and Dror Feiler, of the organization Jews for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, have reacted strongly to the news that Israeli MK and former IDF Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz was invited to make an appearance at the non-governmental Swedish Institute for International Affairs (Utrikesdepartementet, UD) as the main speaker for a seminar on the subject “Possible roads to peace”. 

In a joint statement Ms. Wester and Mr. Feiler condemn the UD's decision to invite Mr. Mofaz, demanding that he be “sent to the Hague instead”. The reason? Mofaz' conduct during the Second Intifada, during which his harsh tactics were credited with freezing the Intifada, thus saving hundreds, if not thousands of lives – both Israeli and Palestinian. Ms. Wester and Mr. Feiler also claim that the IDF, under the command of Mr. Mofaz, were guilty of war crimes, as proved by the NGOs Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. They do not, however, mention that the UN did not find anything to substantiate those allegations, despite Amnesty and the HRW claiming to have “proof” that such  “crimes” did take place. They also claim that Israeli forces, on Mr. Mofaz' orders, attacked, besieged and later demolished the headquarters of then-PA leader Yasser Arafat. That much, at least, is true, though once more they fail to mention one important detail; President Arafat was sheltering terrorists within his headquarters. (It may also be worth mentioning that Ms. Wester, after going to the lecture, wrote about it on her blog. Among other things, she is incensed that Mr. Mozaf calls the West Bank “Judea and Samaria”.)

The statement by Anna Wester and Dror Feiler is typical of both of their organizations, as well as a large number of other NGOs that claim to support peace between Israel and the Palestinians; rather than working towards achieving a sustainable peace, they instead devote all of their energy to spewing hatred of Israel, distorting the truth and omitting facts as they see fit in order to do so. There are only two possible explanations for this: either they are too blinded by their hatred of Israel to see that, in so doing, they are actually doing more harm than good to the peace process, as radical elements within Palestinian society feel encouraged, while moderates are undermined – or they do not really care about peace at all.

The post was written by: Adam Eberhag

Was There an Anti-Semitic Cartoon in Dagens Nyheter?

On Monday of this week one of the editors of Dagens Nyheter (DN) decided that an installment of a popular comic strip, was to be removed from the newspaper. The reason: it had arguably anti-Semitic content.

The disputed comic strip, titled “Rocky”, featured a dialogue between two dogs, which blamed the ”Jews from Bonniers” (a leading Swedish based media and publishing house founded by German Jews) for love troubles in the dogs’ life. Culture editor at DN, Björn Wiman stated, regarding the strip that “unaware readers could have easily missed the cartoon's irony and instead interpreted the cartoon as containing a purely anti-Semitic message. “

While the strip might have been seen as controversial by some, most people argue that the comic strip, written by Martin Kellerman, was in fact mocking the current spate of anti-Semitic sentiments which have been seen, for example, in statements by Malmö's major Ilmar Reepalu and the human organs-trafficking article published in Aftonbladet by Donald Boström. 

Below is the deleted strip from DN and following is a translation from Swedish to English.

 1. Rocky: At least I work well when I am unhappily in love and miserable… I’m starting to think that it is the Jews at Bonnier which are behind the fact that every girl I fall for is mean, as this increases my productivity and hence their income.

2. It’s just a theory… I could be wrong… I am just throwing it out there as a base for an important debate.
…I am raising the question.

3. It cold be a coincidence…

4: Dog no 2: It could be your own fault.
Rocky: It could be my own fault but it leans towards the Jews…

Was the strip anti-Semtic? What do you think?

Inhumane Swedish Slaughter of Rabbits Acceptable, But Kosher Slaughter Illegal

Sweden, a country which prides itself on its progressive policies, has recently been rocked by the exposure of cruel and inadequate government policy regulating the slaughter of rabbits. Basically, the only legal method of rabbit slaughter, using a bolt gun, results in about one-third fail rate. This means that despite being shot in the head, the bunnies are still alive and must be shot again to finally kill them.  This is bad enough, but given that the overwhelming majority of sensory receptors in rabbits are located in the head makes Swedish mandatory use of the bolt gun even crueler.  

A graphic video showing the brutal slaughter method ran on Swedish Television’s Rapport, and generated outrage among many viewers at seeing such a thing so near to the dinner hour.  Yet the trend is that Swedes are consuming an increasing amount of rabbit meat.

Dinner, however, is not the only destination of brutalized bunnies in Sweden.  As documented a little over a year ago in the Local in an article entitled “Stockholm's bunnies burned to keep Swedes warm”

-“The bodies of thousands of rabbits culled every year from the parks in Stockholm’s Kungsholmen neighbourhood are being used to fuel a heating plant in central Sweden.”

Many of these rabbits are pets whose owners have tired of them and simply dump the bunnies in public parks where they eat the flowers, reproduce, and become pests. The solution:

-“Animal control authorities employ a special rifle to shoot the excess rabbits, with most of the culling taking place at dawn when the animals peek out from their holes.”

Here again we have what must be inhumane kills—if a confined rabbits in slaughter house have a failed kill rate of 30%, what must the fail rate be for those hopping around loose in the park? It’s probably about as bad as the animals hunted in Sweden’s wilderness areas, by both tourists and native Swedes. Sweden is a prime destination for hunters. A Google search turns up quite a number of pricey vacation packages for hunters who want to pursue game in Sweden’s northern wilderness, shooting a variety of  birds, deer , elk, wild boar, beavers, fox, etc.

This from the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management (Svenska Jägareförbundet) website :

-“Hunting is a popular sport in Sweden. There are almost 300,000 hunters, of whom nearly 200,000 have chosen to join the Svenska Jägareförbundet. “

Despite the fact that shooting animals for sport or convenience is commonly accepted practice in Sweden, Sweden is the only EU member nation to prohibit kosher slaughter.  Allegedly this is for “humanitarian reasons”, yet as we have seen, humanitarian principles do not guide the shooting of rabbits and wild animals in Sweden. This certainly contravenes the EU directive, “that the animals are spared any avoidable pain or suffering.”

Although no slaughter method is aesthetically pleasing, the point of kosher slaughter is to kill the animals as painlessly as possible with only one knife cut.  The same EU legislation cited above recognizes kosher slaughter as an acceptable alternative practice.

Mikael Tossavainen in his article  “Jewish-Muslim Relations in Sweden” notes:

-“Sweden has a longstanding ban on the religious slaughter of cattle. This ban is generally uncontroversial in Sweden, and the Animal Protection Act stands against the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion. ...The protection of animals (italics mine) has so far prevailed over any attempts to have the ban on shechita and halal slaughter lifted.”

Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, in his book  Behind the Humanitarian Mask, notes that in Germany, kosher slaughter

-“was prohibited only during the Nazi period. In Norway, however, the ban was introduced three years before the Nazis took power in Germany and continues till today, whereas Muslim ceremonial slaughter (hallal) is permitted. Compassion for animals does not explain the ban on shechita [kosher slaughter], since hunting is permitted and popular in Norway...[and] hunted prey often suffers a much slower and more painful death than in Jewish ritual slaughter.”

Clearly the ban on kosher slaughter in Norway is driven not by humanitarianism, but by anti-Semitism.

Given that animal protection has been shown to be largely a sham in Sweden, and capitulation to its Muslim population is becoming increasingly the modus operandi for politicians such as the Social Democrats, how long will Sweden continue to uphold a ban on hallal slaughter? The issue is not the humane aspect of hallal slaughter, but whether Sweden’s next step will be to imitate Norway, and allow Muslims to practice hallal slaughter in Sweden, while continuing to ban kosher slaughter—à la Quisling.

This post was written by Chanah Shapira. Thanks to Dorit Jacobson for animal physiology pointers.

Daily Shootings in Malmö: The Violence Continues…

Lately shootings have become part of everyday life for the citizens in Sweden’s southern city of Malmö. During the last week, shootings have been reported almost daily and the police are still clueless as to who the perpetrator (or perpetrators) of these horrid crimes may be.
So far the victims of Malmö’s recent shootings have been restricted to individuals of foreign background, yet the shootings have not been concentrated to particular parts of the city. While the victims all have been first- or second-generation immigrants there is no further known connection between the victims—except that they have been unfortunate enough to fall victim to a violent perpetrator. The media is already talking about a second “Laser Man” (laser mannen), as the shootings are reminiscent of a serial killer who committed a series of shootings with the aid of a laser gun sight in Sweden during the 1990s.


According to journalist Gellert Tamas, author of the bestselling book Lasermannen – en berättelse om Sverige (The Laser Man – A Story About Sweden), there are several similarities to the recent shootings in Malmö and that of John Ausonius, also known as the “Laser Man”. At the time Ausonius the political party Ny Demokrati (New Democracy) had just managed to get into the Swedish government. This is a political feat recently accomplished by the controversial Sweden Democrats. Both of the parties were labeled as immigrant-hostile and were known for holding racist views, views which, ironically, the “Laser Man” admitted identifying with.


Gellert, who works as a journalist, noted that;


“Ausonius felt supported, that people stood behind him. He also felt a political support from New Democracy but also from other immigrant-hostile parties such as the Sweden Democrats”.


In addition to the possibility of racially-motivated crime, there may also be an element of gang revenge; this would be an extension of the immigrant violence which has been reported at length in this blog. In fact, one “former” gang leader vowed that “ex” gang members would take the law into their own hands and kill the shooter. As the reporting and the pattern of incidents have been less than clear (including at least one fake shooting), multiple scenarios are possible, all of which point to a growing lawlessness in Malmö.


Not surprisingly, the continuous upswing of violence in Malmö has attracted more attention for Sweden in the international media. No doubt some of this attention is sensationalist, as there seems to be a repetition of frightening, somewhat random shootings. Yet some attention is due also to the increasing attention Sweden is getting in the media as a prime example of the “multi-kulti” paradigm breaking down in Europe. Some of the newspapers which write about Malmö as a downward-spiraling city are:


the German der Spiegel and die Welt, UK-based Guardian and the US-based Washington Post. The Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot also decided to run a piece on Malmö this past week.


Following are descriptions of some of the most recent shootings where people have been injured:


Oct 23: A tailor hears shot outside his store and goes outside to see what is going on. Once outside he is head-butted by an unknown man.


October 21: Two women are injured when a shot is fired through a window in the Kroksbäck neighborhood. The women are only lightly injured.


October 20: Two men, 22 and 29-years-old are shot in the Lindängen neighborhood.


October 19: A 28-year-old man is shot in the back at a bus stop.


October 16: A man is shot in the shoulder during the night between Friday and Saturday at the Barcelona bar in Malmö.


It is evident that Malmö now is a city far away from the peaceful associations that most people have when they think about Sweden. The fact that Malmö has started on a downward-spiraling cycle of violence was already evident at the beginning of the year when Jewish families were attacked. Yet as this blog predicted “Jews might be the first, but they are never the last”…


Click here for a map outlining all the recent shootings in Malmö (descriptions in Swedish).

Merkel Admits that the Emperor Has No Clothes

The political trend in the last year or so in Europe and the UK has been an increase in support for nationalistic parties. A common thread among these groups is the call for an end to the slavish devotion to left-wing policies of open immigration and accompanying welfare policies.  These nationalist voices have been gaining ground in Sweden as well, with the Sweden Democrats receiving nearly 6% of the votes in the recent elections. This is a first win for what is termed an extreme right-wing party and a loss for the leftist Social Democrats.

Last week‘s address by German Chancellor Angela Merkel represents another watershed event. In her speech, Merkel broke ‘politically correct” taboos when she stated that "This (multicultural) approach has failed, utterly failed." It’s important to point out that Merkel is referring to the Germans’ importation of guest workers—and the idea that they would be a temporary population living side-by-side with the native population. But they weren’t temporary, and Germany failed to integrate these mostly Muslim workers into German society and culture.

If the German importation of labor was an “utter failure”, how can we term the immigration policy in Sweden, which is mostly based not on needed labor imports, but on “refugees”, many of whom immediately pass into the welfare system, without providing labor? Unemployment statistics for the Swedish immigrant community show unemployment rates of 80% overall and up to 90% for young men ages 18-25.  

It is obvious that in Sweden paid unemployment removes motivation and cultivates dependency. It also follows that without work these large numbers of unemployed individuals are in no way compelled to integrate. Even those conducting basic jobs have to acquire the local language, but those who sit home barely need Swedish language skills, let alone the education to make them employable. If Germany’s integration policies resulted in utter failure, Sweden’s policies can arguably be called dangerous delusions which would best be abandoned, and the sooner the better. So far one of the dangerous products made by this unintegrated population is a rising statistic for anti-Semitic hate-crime in Sweden.

Commentators have noted that Merkel’s comments perhaps come on the heels of party pressure to tow a more conservative line, and that these were mere words. Nonetheless, Merkel has broken a taboo in saying that integration is not working.  Perhaps this will help those in Sweden who are still clinging to their delusions to let go and move forward.

Merkel also made an important point which is critical for the preservation of European democratic values :

"Now we obviously also have Muslims in Germany. But it's important in regard to Islam that the values represented by Islam must correspond with our constitution."

This is also an important point for Swedes—that Swedish society has values which are worth preserving, and that is why integration is crucial. Lack of the Democratic and human values which define Western civilization are the reasons immigrants have left their native countries.  If our Western society loses these principles, where will we go?

Post Written By: Chanah Shapira

Sweden Becomes Key Arms Provider for the World’s Worst Dictatorships

Sweden, along with the US, UK, France and China, has recently begun signing massive weapon deals with Saudi Arabia in order to “stabilize the region”. In Sweden, Saab has agreed to become one of the key providers of weapons to one of the worst dictatorships in the world.

Last Monday Peter Rådberg, the Green Party’s defense policy spokesperson, told the TT news agency that instead of arming the worst dictatorship in the world Sweden instead should focus on buying food. Rådberg’s strong reaction came in response to the fact that the Swedish-based Saab has decided to close a whopping arms deal with the Saudis worth 4.5 billion kronor ($669 million) for a Saab-produced advanced early warning radar system to Saudi Arabia.  

As reported in the Local, the Swedish Agency for Non-Proliferation and Export Controls (Inspektionen för strategiska produkter - ISP) recently disclosed “that Saudi Arabia received arms shipments from Sweden as recently as August this year.  Swedish military products were also sent to Saudi Arabia in March, April and May.
The exports in August and March were classified as combat material, which could include missiles, rockets, torpedoes, bombs, etc.”

As noted in today’s online edition of the southern newspaper Sydsvenskan, authors Erik Magnusson and Hassan Ammar seem to be more interested in why Israel has not opposed the massive deal that Saudi Arabia most probably will close with the US. The article reads: “The US makes sure to involve Israel in their goal towards stabilization. The government in Washington lets the Israelis buy warfare materiel which is more modern then of what is sold to Arab neighboring countries… this is one of many reasons as to why Israel doesn’t oppose the US record order from the Saudi armed forces.”.

If the US congress approves of the arms deal with the Saudis, the deal will be the most beneficial one ever closed in the US. It is expected that by arming Saudi Arabia the US will make a profit of 60 billion dollars and at the same time create some 75,000 new jobs.

It is known that Sweden helped to arm Germany with steel during World War II. Now we have proof that it also aims to help arm Saudi Arabia—one of the world’s worst dictatorships. The Saudis’ record on women’s rights, lack of religious freedom, and the fact that outside the country’s oil-soaked elite there is a population that is both poor and illiterate, all point to a dismal and oppressive regime.

While Sweden claims to be a small and neutral country far from conflict, it seems that with its huge new arms deal with Saudi Arabia, to have desires of playing with the big boys in the international arms sales arena.

Rupert Murdoch: Malmö Mayor Reepalu Plays a Part in the “War against the Jews”

Today’s Jerusalem Post ran an excellent op-edby none other than media mogul Rupert Murdoch—most widely known as the owner and corporate head of Fox News and Sky News.  In an edited text of his address at a recent Anti-Defamation League event, Murdoch cited modes of anti-Semitism which we have seen in recent history: conventional warfare in WWII, terrorist warfare, and, most recently, the war of delegitimization which has been waged against Israel. 

-“The battleground is everywhere: the media, multinational organizations, NGOs. In this war, the aim is to make Israel a pariah.

The result is the curious situation we have today: Israel becomes increasingly ostracized, while Iran – a nation that has made no secret of wishing Israel’s destruction – pursues nuclear weapons loudly, proudly, and without apparent fear of rebuke.”

For Murdoch, one of the most disturbing elements of this latest attack against Israel and the Jews—and Murdoch clearly sees these as integrally linked—is the acceptance among academic and political elites of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic canards.  This, in tandem with rising levels of Muslims immigrant violence, presents a worrying picture:

-“Far from being dismissed out of hand, anti-Semitism today enjoys support at both the highest and lowest reaches of European society – from its most elite politicians to its largely Muslim ghettoes. European Jews find themselves caught in this pincer.”

As the prime example of state-endorsed Israel delegitimization, Murdoch lists Sweden:

-“Sweden, for example, has long been a synonym for liberal tolerance. Yet in one of Sweden’s largest cities, Malmo, Jews report increasing examples of harassment. When an Israeli tennis team visited for a competition, it was greeted with riots. So how did the mayor [Ilmar Reepalu] respond? By equating Zionism with anti-Semitism – and suggesting that Swedish Jews would be safer in his town if they distanced themselves from Israeli actions in Gaza.”

Despite Reepalu’s accusations, rising rates of hate crime in Sweden and across Europe are driven not by Jews, but by its Muslim immigrant population, including:

-“the most egregious attacks on Jewish people, Jewish symbols, and Jewish houses of worship...Unfortunately, far from making clear that such behavior will not be tolerated, too often the official response is what we’ve seen from the Swedish mayor [Reepalu]– who suggested Jews and Israel were partly to blame themselves.

When Europe’s political leaders do not stand up to the thugs, they lend credence to the idea that Israel is the source of all the world’s problems – and they guarantee more ugliness. If that is not anti-Semitism, I don’t know what is.”

Well said, Mr. Murdoch—and we also have to agree that unless the problem is seen for what it is, the world will not be able to meet the dangers that most certainly lie ahead. This is a lesson that we wish Malmö’s mayor would learn. We hope that the World Mayor 2010 competition passes up  Reepalu—for both his incompetence and his collaboration in the war against the Jews of his own city.

 By: Chanah Shapira