Israel furious over Swedish newspaper article (says soldiers harvesting organs)

AP ^ | 8/19/2009 | MATTI FRIEDMAN

[markomalley]

Israel and the Swedish Embassy responded furiously Wednesday to a Swedish newspaper article that suggested Israeli troops killed Palestinians and harvested their organs. The article published Monday in Aftonbladet, Sweden's largest circulation daily, implies a link between those charges and the recent arrest in the U.S. of an American Jew for illicit organ trafficking. Later the reporter told Israel Radio he did not know if the allegations were true

Headlined "Our sons are plundered for their organs," the story made news in Israel, where some commentators compared it to medieval libels that Jews killed Christian children for their blood. Daniel Seaman, who heads Israel's government press office, said the article played on "vile anti-Semitic themes."

The article was illustrated with a photograph of a dead Palestinian man with a line of surgical stitches running the length of his torso, apparently taken after an autopsy, as well as pictures of stone-throwing youths and Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, a New York resident arrested in an FBI sting last month and charged with plotting to buy a kidney from an Israeli and sell it to an American patient for $160,000.

The writer, Donald Bostrom, based the story on accounts from Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza whom he identified only by their first names. It quotes an Israeli military spokesman denying the charges and saying that Palestinians killed by Israeli forces are routinely subjected to autopsies.

[WesternCulture]

“the self-rigteousness of many Swedes”

- We Swedes probably would enjoy even better relations with nations we do business with if we only would agree to scrap our naive attitude of being so much of an model to everyone else.

Yes, we Swedes are well off, at least compared to people residing in poorer parts of Western Civilization, but disrespect from one nation towards another one seldom leads to closing major deals.

Together with tons of Socialist teachings, Swedish national indoctrination has turned a once Viking nation into a PC joke among other rich countries.

But, does this mean we Swedes are weak, useless and unreliable?

H*ll no!

Many Swedes are well aware Swedes must strive to redefine Sweden in order for us to remain a successful, independent nation.

We are, most definitely, on the right track.

Even so much there, I wish to question whether Putin sleeps at all.

We could crush Russia at will.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Svensksund_(1790)

[WesternCulture]

Correction:

“Even so much there..”

I apologize. That wasn’t proper English.

Much of the rest is intelligible though and I’m pretty convinced I have slayed the evils of European Socialism once and for all, or haven’t I?

[wmileo]

"Off topic or not, many of you seem very unpatriotic about American companies in the automotive industry and American made cars."

We are not unpatriotic about American Cars. We don't like th way Unions like the UAW have savaged the industry. They are the selfish unpatriotic ones, not the FreeRepublic.com members who only expect to get what they have earned and not a penny more.

[WesternCulture]

“We are not unpatriotic about American Cars. We don't like th way Unions like the UAW have savaged the industry. They are the selfish unpatriotic ones, not the FreeRepublic.com members who only expect to get what they have earned and not a penny more.”

- Good point.

From what I've understood, it is, to a great extent, the UAW that has crippled the American automotive industry (one of the backbone industries of the nation), not the American consumers who chose European and Asian cars instead because they, hardly surprising, demand a quality product from a producer they hand over $20 000 or so to.

However, even though I don't wish to say Germany is a model to everyone else (Ich liebe Deutschland though, so many fascinating things to experience over there and what car lover could resist the Autobahns?!), other nations and companies must pose this question to themselves:

- What did Germany and BMW do right?

[WesternCulture]

..”self-rigteousness of many Swedes”

- I won’t argue with that.

We Swedes generally believe to be better than everyone else and on top of that, most Swedes believe to be even more perfect than every single compatriot.

Blame Lutheranism in combination with being successful and also isolated..

“Utlandet”, the Swedish word for “abroad” is actually a term of disparagement in Swedish.

“What’s it like with the Muslim immigrant population in Sweden at this time?”

- All Muslims aren’t the same.

Many members of this forum would say moderate Muslims are appeasers for radical Islam.

I believe they’re wrong. It’s human nature to seek individual freedom. That “simple” fact explains much of the marvles of civilization, like the things great minds such as Leonardo da Vinci and George Washington accomplished while here on Earth.

Well educated, Westernized Muslims understand that radical Islam is a major threat to their way of life.

There is a reason why a rather modern nation like Turkey is a NATO member and also an major enemy of the idiots ruling Iran.

However, the best solution would be if all Muslims would stay in Ramadan Land and we Westerners would agree to reproduce somewhat more (what’s wrong with sex?).

[wmileo]

"What did Germany and BMW do right?

They pursued excellence and they found it.

GM and UAW lacked vision and they now have to get handout after handout from the taxpayers until the plug is pulled.

[metesky]

Pallywood