“We expect the Swedish government to prevent these events.”
By World Israel News Staff
Israel on Thursday slammed a Swedish decision to allow another burning of a Torah as a statement of protest, and called on the government in Stockholm to prevent such events.
Stockholm police once again approved a request, this time by a woman in her 50s, to “light the Torah with a lighter” outside Israel’s embassy in the Swedish capital on Friday, SVT Nyheter reported.
The burning was in protest “for the systematic violation of children’s rights,” according to the woman’s application to the police.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen blasted the decision to allow the burning to go ahead.
“I’m appalled by another threat to burn a Torah in Sweden,” Cohen said. “Threats to harm holy books and Torahs must stop.”
“Soon I will speak with Sweden’s foreign minister and make clear to him that we expect the Swedish government to prevent these events, which could harm relations between our countries,” Cohen added.
Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer called the event “shameful.”
Rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz said he was “deeply disturbed” by the second approval
“The Swedish authorities’ weak response, merely uttering empty words about freedom, pales in comparison to the heinous actions – both those that have already occurred and those that may come. This is not what freedom should look like; it represents a loss of moral direction,” he said, and called for authorities to stop the event from proceeding.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decried the Sweden’s “shameful” decision to allow another burning of a Torah scroll outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm.
The planned burning, however, did not take place when the Muslim activist announced he had no intention of burning the Torah, saying he wanted to protest the recent burning of a Quran.
Earlier this year, Muslim leaders in Sweden, together with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, successfully stopped a planned demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm which included the public burning of a Torah scroll.
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