Sweden has been exploiting its rotating presidency of the European Union to wage a radical campaign against Israel, former Israeli ambassador to Stockholm Tzvi Mazel told Arutz 7.
He said that Sweden’s unsuccessful campaign to convince the EU to recognize eastern Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian Authority state is only the latest evidence of its anti-Israeli policies. Although the EU foreign ministers rejected the proposal, it issued a statement that implied that the division of the capital should be a foregone conclusion in negotiations, if and when the PA decides to resume them.
The Swedish initiative created a host of diplomatic problems for Israel, according to Mazel. “In diplomacy, the atmosphere often determines matters, and accepting the proposal would have given legitimacy to the PA."
He said that Sweden as well as the entire EU has been funding left-wing groups to campaign against Israel, including funds for anarchists who travel to Israel to demonstrate on behalf of Arabs.
Despite Europe’s fear of the Muslim flooding of Europe, the EU countries prefer to stand by the side of Arabs, Mazel added. “Fifty-seven percent of Swiss citizens recently voted in a referendum to ban minarets from Muslim mosques, but when it comes to Israel, they continue to be anti-Semitic.
“Leftists are a dominating force and determine public opinion. If you look closely at the European protests against Israel, you won’t see PA flags. Instead, there are flags of leftists, and that also is the nature of the media. From the standpoint of Europeans, the United States and Israel are evil, but they have a hard time starting up with the Americans, so they pick on Israel.”
Mazel’s name became a household word nearly six years ago when he vandalized a Swedish art display featuring a portrait of a suicide bomber who blew up herself and 19 Israelis in a Haifa restaurant. Mazel called the display a “call for genocide” and demanded that it be dismantled.
Then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon thanked Mazel for his action, and the envoy later called Sweden’s foreign minister and its ambassador to the United Nations “professional anti-Israelis.”
Several months ago, Sweden’s largest daily published a blood libel article falsely stating that Israeli soldiers harvested organs of terrorists.
