Sunday, August 23, 2009
Or is it quadruples down by now? Carl in Jerusalem has a good round-up of Google-translated posts as Aftonbladet editor Jan "I'm no antisemite...really...I'm not" Helin tries to justify his rotten hate-mongering: Aftonbladet does it again
The Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet has published an entire section of its Sunday edition that is devoted to defending its blood libel that the IDF murdered 'Palestinians' are harvested their organs for resale abroad.
Here's an article by their editor, Jan Helin, and here is the Google translation...
Aftonbladet certainly deserves to be considered as less than a serious news source by the Israeli government. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them putting an end to the free ride some media takes in spending evenings in Israel and doing Hamas propaganda during the day. Let them show that "access journalism" works both ways when basic standards are violated.
I do think some of the expectations being directed toward the Swedish Government are slightly misplaced. It's true that there are limits to what they should and could do (though they haven't really tested them, and removing a condemnation after it was issued by their Israeli Embassy is a little embarrassing, and yes, I've noted their past hypocrisy, but that's a separate but related issue). I think the better path to take is with what NGO Monitor has been doing in pointing out that this is the culture of hate created by many of the NGO's that the Swedish Government itself funds.
Of course, as I write this I realize the picture is clouded by this: Sweden Funded Anti-Israel Allegations
(IsraelNN.com) Antagonism between Israel and Sweden over Swedish media accusation that IDF soldiers sold Arab body parts is heating up, in light of evidence that Sweden's government funded the "research" for the story. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is expected to demand a Swedish government condemnation of the accusations.
News of the funding was broken Sunday morning by Maariv/NRG. Maariv's correspondent in Sweden, Liran Lotker, reports that most of the material in last week's controversial article is old, having appeared in a book written in 2001 by the author of the article. The book, entitled Inshallah, was funded by various bodies, including the Foreign Ministry of Sweden, Swedish labor unions, and some organizations based in the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas.
Meanwhile, there's still a lot going on in the comments at the Swedish Foreign Minister's blog.
There's also a good report at the JPost: Ministers fume about Swedish story
...Israel's envoy to Sweden, Benny Dagan, responded to a Swedish reporter on Sunday who asked why Israel did not investigate the claims.
"Why don't we investigate why the Mossad and the Jews were behind the bombing of the twin towers?" he said. "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?"...
And also Barry Rubin: Accuse First, Ask Questions Never: Mainstreaming Anti-Semitism
And FresnoZionism: Swedish PM ignorant of his own constitution
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Aftonbladet Triples Down.
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The first documented instances of Christian blood libel against the Jews occurred in the 12th century. It became a model for later iterations of an accusation that was used to direct and intensify anti-Semitism during periods of societal stress. From... Read More
I said something similar over at Elder's place earlier - We gotten used to anti-Semitism over time but lately its become somehow more virulent, in my opinion. I pray that things change while I try not to worry needlessly that they'll get worse.
I think they've been getting worse and worse and worse for years now.
I don't know if it's my imagination but this latest surge of antisemitism seemed to coincide with 9/11, which also happened around the same time as the Durban disaster and of course Intifada II.
Durban seemed to enshrine antisemitism as anti-racism, which is pretty wierd. It's also pretty wierd that 9/11 would rebound against - Jews. But it did - the conspiracy theories are astonishing and it's hard to believe they're for real except history tells us we must take them seriously as they represent an ancient disease of our culture.
And - almost all the proPalestinians I encountered on the blogosphere were to some degree either outright antisemitic or willing to ignore it or pretend it doesn't exist, that the anti-Israel argument has nothing at all to do with misojudaism either in the west or in the Middle East.
Some of the people I argued with then are ashamed now of some of what they did, said and enabled.
It's probable that they are aware of what they helped to inspire and that things have gotten way out of control, that their support for "resistance" actually has led to violence and death and that playing with antisemitism is like playing with matches.
Unfortunately I think it's too late for regrets.
Past a certain point it's also inexcusable even among young people who, like the German terrorists back in the 1970's, didn't consider themselves Nazis but rather "idealists" even as they separated the Jews from the others at Entebbe.
I am personally very bitter about this. I am also angry because so many Jews I know have their heads in the sand. One person even rebuked me when I sent him some articles including a few on Israel, declaring that I was confusing him with a Jewish person - that since he doesn't go to synagogue he isn't a Jew - .
I'm going to write about this in a separate piece when I calm down. But one of the points I think is pretty obvious is the simplest of all: the Grand Inquisitor doesn't care if you go to synagogue or not or even if your grandparents converted to Christianity.
Pretending that "it" couldn't happen again is stupid, irresponsible behavior and so is blaming all our troubles on Israel. That in particular is truly obscene.
declaring that I was confusing him with a Jewish person - that since he doesn't go to synagogue he isn't a Jew - .
Sophia,
Now isn't that nice. Heads I win, tails you lose!
And how many of these bi-pedal animals use, and are used for, their Jewish roots to attack Israel and Jews.
Now if only this person can get on the air and renounce the Jewishness of the Soros', Pappes, Judts, Finkelsteins et al, once and for all.
You could have reminded him that for Hitler it needed some 5 generations of outbreeding to cleanse the blood.
Great post - I really like your blog!
COMMON CENTS
http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com
ps. Link Exchange?
Cynic,
I felt like I'd been slapped in the face, for the reasons you mention but also - since when are articles by or about Jews only to be read by (religious) Jews?
Good heavens.
Does that mean I have to stop listening to Turkish music?
Sophia & Kae;
It WILL get worse. I know it.
It's time for everyone to make aliyah. Now!!!
Home is where the protection is. And I don't mean the IDF.