Monday, August 24, 2009
Oh beautiful. Khaled Abu Toameh, writing in the Jerusalem Post: Palestinian family: We never told 'Aftonbladet' organs were taken
The family and relatives of Bilal Ahmed Ghanem, the Palestinian at the center of the organ-theft story in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, said on Monday that they didn't know if the accusations were true or not...
...Ghanem's younger brother, Jalal, said he could not confirm the allegations made by the Swedish newspaper that his brother's organs had been stolen.
"I don't know if this is true," he said. "We don't have any evidence to support this."
Jalal said his brother was evacuated by the IDF in a helicopter and delivered to the family only a few days later.
The mother denied that she had told any foreign journalist that her son's organs had been stolen.
However, she said that now she does not rule out the possibility that Israel was harvesting organs of Palestinians...
Oh of course, NOW she doesn't rule it out.
...The family lives in the tiny village of Imatin in the northern West Bank. Ghanem, 19, was killed by IDF soldiers during the first intifada on May 13, 1992.
He was a Fatah activist who was wanted by the IDF for his involvement in violence.
His mother, Sadeeka, said he was shot by an IDF sniper as he walked out of his home. "The bullets hit him directly in the heart," she said.
Ghanem's younger brother, Jalal, said he could not confirm the allegations made by the Swedish newspaper that his brother's organs had been stolen.
"I don't know if this is true," he said. "We don't have any evidence to support this."
Jalal said his brother was evacuated by the IDF in a helicopter and delivered to the family only a few days later.
The mother denied that she had told any foreign journalist that her son's organs had been stolen.
However, she said that now she does not rule out the possibility that Israel was harvesting organs of Palestinians.
Great, great. Another text-book case of meddling politically-activist "journalists" making matters worse for everyone and coexistence more distant.
Related: In Sweden, silence is golden - just ask FM Carl Bildt
...THE RESULTS of media distortion and constant demonizing of Jews and Israelis are felt in Sweden all the time - most recently Saturday in a soccer match involving Jewish youth club IF Hakoah, in which spectators raced onto the pitch during and after the match to assault the Hakoah players for the crime of being Jewish.
One problem, however: at this particular match, none of the Hakoah players happened to be Jewish. Not that it mattered in a climate of hate cloaked in government silence...
[h/t: Seva]
It is always so reassuring to know that we have such caring writers out there who can help everyone get along by stirring up more crap.
Am I the only one who thinks stirring things up is the goal?
Sophia,
This stirring things up has been going on for some time, at least since the middle of the 90s.
See how the BBC helped with the process
Your Taxes for PLO Propaganda
It took Hitler two decades to get things really stirred up and now they are getting to the point where the governments of independent states jump onto the bandwagon.
It is very interesting, as a Swede, to read the articles in the Israeli newspapers and hearing the Israeli politicians regarding this matter.
For the first time it really becomes evident how much propaganda is being spread in order to control the public in this part of the world. But I do also understand that Israel as a country is far more "cornered" than Sweden, and this is where the hostility comes from.
Don't get me wrong, this happens everywhere, and my views are of course also a bit clouded by the propaganda which I read everyday.
But, no one is denying that there are some people in Sweden who may dislike Israel and/or Jews. However, there are also Swedes who dislike Palestinians, Americans, French, Africans, other Swedes etc.
As there also are people who have the opposite opinion and have a special affection for one or several of these groups..
This is a honest picture of our country - we try to tolerate different opinions. The government are not the ones to tell you what to think. There are of course some boundaries, but it is the job of the justice system to enforce these.
Voltaire said it best: “I may not agree with what you say, but I would die for your right to say it.”
And this, I think, is the way that a proper democracy should reason.
Peter,
If you have the right to "say it", do you also have the right to draw a cartoon, or publish the cartoon?, with the risk of offending Muslims?
Did Aftonbladet publish the "mohammed" cartoon, or was it showing a sensitivity that it isn't willing to show to Israelis or Jews?
P.S. Google Voltaire's views on Jews.
Peter, everyone agrees that governments shouldn't be dictating what a free press writes. It's a bit more complicated than that, however, since the government actually funded the publication of this author's book, as well as funding a number of other NGO efforts that many view as anti-Israel. So they certainly don't seem to mind involving themselves in opinion shaping. To an extent, since they have paid this guy, they share responsibility for what he is saying.
They don't have to use the law to stop him from speaking and writing, but they could make a moral statement on the things he's saying. Free speech would live on just fine.
Also, with respect, please note Cynic's comment. Jewish history reflects the fact that people don't merely like or dislike Israel/Jews, but have been willing to commit mass murder, expulsions, and other forms of gross oppression due to their "dislike".