STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A row reminiscent of the Prophet Mohammad cartoon crisis has flared up between Israel and Sweden.
Israel is furious with the Swedish government because Stockholm, citing freedom of the press, refuses to condemn a newspaper article that indirectly accuses Israeli soldiers of smuggling organs from dead Palestinians.
The row is sowing controversy ahead of Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt's visit to Israel next month, and it could have even greater implications: Observers fear it could undermine the Middle East peace process, as Sweden as the current holder of the rotating EU presidency is a key player in those negotiations.
A piece published in the tabloid Aftonbladet, Sweden's top-selling newspaper, calls for an investigation into allegations that Israeli soldiers abducted Palestinian youths to take out their organs and later returned their bodies.
Israel has blasted the article, saying it was not only false but also downright anti-Semitic. Jerusalem has called on Stockholm to condemn the piece, a move the Swedish government has so far resisted. In that, it is backed by most of the Swedish public. The Swedish Freedom of the Press Act was the world's first when it was enacted in 1766.
Israel is nevertheless furious. "It is regrettable that the Swedish Foreign Ministry does not intervene when it comes to a blood libel against Jews, which reminds one of Sweden's conduct during World War II when it also did not intervene," Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in a statement.
The Swedish press also defended Aftonbladet's right to publish the piece, but harshly criticized its tone and journalistic quality. Five of six major Swedish newspapers said they would not have printed the article. The author's accusations are not backed by any evidence.
In Israel, people have called for boycotts of Swedish products and companies including furniture seller Ikea and car maker Volvo.
The crisis is reminiscent of that sparked by the publication in a Danish newspaper of a cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed with a bomb in his turban. Reprints of the cartoons in 2006 triggered violent protests all over the world that killed more than 50 people. The cartoon row also sparked a boycott of Danish products and attacks on Danish institutions in Muslim countries.
