A Swedish-Egyptian author requested approval from the police to set fire to a Sefer Torah in a demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, Kan News reported on Thursday.
The author’s request was in response to the burning of the Quran by a far-right activist outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm over the weekend in protest of Turkey’s opposition to Sweden’s bid to join NATO.
The Israeli embassy in Stockholm made extensive efforts to prevent the incident and on Thursday afternoon, the author withdrew his request, according to a report by The Jewish Press. Initially, the ministry was told that the act of protest will be approved due to considerations of free speech.
“The individual who was organizing the demonstration withdrew his permit application from the police,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lior Havat told JewishPress.com.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Embassy in Sweden acted immediately and decisively to prevent the shocking and humiliating event from taking place,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The actions included, among other things, contacting the top of the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Stockholm Police, as well as the Swedish Embassy in Israel, and activating Jewish and other organizations.
“As a result of our actions, the event at this stage is frozen.”
Earlier on Thursday, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan said in response to the report: “This is outrageous. There’s a difference between freedom of speech and an ugly act. In places where they burned Sifrei Torah, they also burned people. I call on the Swedish government to intervene to prevent this outrageous incident. I’ll be contacting the Swedish embassy in the UN about the matter.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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13 Responses
Would be interesting Hashem’s answer or responding actions
First of all, I don’t believe they ever planned to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a sefer torah to burn. I’m 100% sure their plan was to burn a cheap printed Tanach.
Second, the Israeli response was moronic. No, there is NO difference between freedom of speech and an ugly act. Freedom of speech MEANS the freedom to offend people. That’s its only meaning. There’s no need for a freedom to say things that don’t offend anyone. Beautiful speech needs no protection, because nobody wants to suppress it. Only ugly speech, offensive speech, at least from someone’s point of view, needs protection, so that is what the protection is for.
But what’s really moronic is the Israeli expectation that Sweden would deny this permit after having stood up to Turkey over the koran-burning. If it not only approved the koran-burning but sacrificed its chance to join NATO in order to stand up for the principle of free speech, how could Israel even imagine that it would do any less for these protesters? What’s the difference between burning a Tanach (or even a sefer torah) and a koran? They’re both equally offensive to their target, and both equally protected by any meaningful guarantee of the freedom of speech. And Turkey is in a position to do a lot more harm to Sweden than Israel is.
Rachmono Litzlon!!!
We are living in scary times.
He’s not going to get an Orthodox Sefer Torah on ebay, he will have some reform Sefer Torah. Let him burn it. He will do us a favour burning a Sefer Torah shekosvo min.
wow, no comment is a very sorry state
The PLO flag…and hate.. what a (non) surprise…
Just ONCE id like to see Hashem’s wrath coming down on all the reshaim who humiliates and try to destroy the Jewish people. That would make my day. Just ONCE.
There is a useful lesson for Jews from this insanity, regardless of which Torah they burn.
The Red-Green Axis, an alliance of Marxists and Islamic terrorists, virulently hate the Jews not because of any alleged injustice to the Fakestinians.
The Red-Green Axis virulently hate the Jews because they hate the Jewish Torah and Hashem.
Allan,
No worries, “Behold, days are coming” – הנה ימים באים. It won’t be long.
However, the main excitement of that day will not be Hashem’s wrath upon the reshaim, rather the incredible bliss and reward that Hashem will bestow upon all of the Yidden and righteous goyim.
Unfortunately this a result of burning a Quran in Sweden.
the craziness of this is just mind-blowing. how or why does this islamist believe that one act “justifies” the other? neither jews nor israelis were involved in burning the koran. even if one were willing to equate the two books, which is not an acceptable idea to jews or to moslems, how does one justify the other, if swedes aren’t jewish? does he just respond with violence against jews for any perceived insult, or is he too simple-minded to find something swedish to burn? maybe a bergman film or something…
If a Goy burns a Torah Scroll he is to be immediately put to death according to Halacha.
Shlomieboruch is absolutely correct. Once again a goy is scapegoating Jews for something they had nothing to do with. Except this time, it’s been taken a step further. In the middle ages Jews would be murdered by goyim after their pedophile priests raped and murdered children and dropped them down wells. The goyim accused the Jews of killing the children to drain their bodies of blood to make matzoh. This time, this Arab wants to burn a Sefer Torah just because he is an antisemite, not because anyone claims any Jews were involved in buring a Koran.