Israel hits back over Swedish organ harvesting article

Author: admin

24 Aug

JERUSALEM (CNN) — Israel on Sunday withheld the press credentials of a Swedish newspaper in retaliation for a controversial piece that suggested the Israeli army kidnapped and killed young Palestinians to harvest their organs.

The journalists need the credentials to report from Gaza.

“We have no duty to supply them with press cards immediately; (we) have 90 days to decide about their status,” said Danny Siman, the head of the government press office.

The article, “Our sons are being stripped of their organs,” appeared Tuesday in Aftonbladet and was an opinion piece written by freelance journalist Donald Bostrom.

Bostrom told CNN he had no proof that Israeli soldiers were stealing organs, and that the purpose of his piece was to call for an investigation into numerous claims in the 1990s that such activity was going on in the West Bank and Gaza.

Even though the Swedish embassy distanced itself from the report, the country’s foreign ministry refused to condemn it — saying Sweden has a “free press.”

The refusal has rankled Israel, which said it will submit an official complaint.

“This is an anti-Semitic blood libel against the Jewish people and the Jewish state. The Swedish government cannot remain apathetic,” said Israel’s Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz.

“We know the origins of these claims. In medieval times, there were claims that the Jews use the blood of Christians to bake their Matzas for Passover. The modern version now is that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers use organs of Palestinians to make money.” Next >>