Israel–Sweden relations
Encyclopedia
Israel–Sweden relations refers to the bilateral relations between Israel
and Sweden
.
's tenure as Prime Minister of Sweden
. Erlander expressed strong support for Israel during the Six-Day War
.
Olof Palme
, who succeeded Erlander as Swedish Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party
in 1969, was more critical of the United States
and its allies, including Israel. In 1969, the Social Democratic Party adopted a neutral
stance in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
. The new policy was justified by the Swedish diplomat Gunnar Jarring
's position as the United Nations Secretary-General's special envoy in the conflict (the so-called Jarring Mission
).
In October 1973, during the Yom Kippur War
, Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs Krister Wickman
criticized Israel and said the problems in the Middle East could not be solved by military superiority. In June 1981, Sweden condemned Israel's attack
on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq
as a "clear violation of international law
". In July 1982, after Israel's invasion of Lebanon
, Prime Minister Olof Palme compared Israel's treatment of Palestinian children to Nazi Germany
's treatment of Jewish children in the concentration camps
and ghettos of World War II
. In December 1988, PLO chairman Yasser Arafat
visited Stockholm
by invitation of the Swedish government. After two days of negotiations, Arafat announced that he would now accept Israel's right to exist and he denounced all forms of terrorism.
In October 1999, Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson
visited Israel, offering to broker the Middle East peace process. Persson's visit was the first official visit for a Swedish Prime Minister since Tage Erlander's visit in 1962.
In January 2004, Israel's ambassador to Sweden Zvi Mazel
vandalized a piece of artwork by Swedish-Israeli artist Dror Feiler
on display at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities
in Stockholm, presenting a portrait of Palestinian suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat
as "Snow White." Mazel's actions sparked a diplomatic incident between the two countries.
During the 2006 Lebanon War, Minister for Foreign Affairs Jan Eliasson
condemned both the actions of Hezbollah and the Israeli response . During the Gaza War in January 2009, Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt
criticised Israel and called for an immediate ceasefire
In August 2009, a diplomatic row erupted after the publication of an article in the Swedish daily Aftonbladet
that claimed the srael Defense Forces had engaged in organ harvesting
from dead Palestinians. Israel called on the Swedish government to condemn the article, which it described as a "manifestation of antisemitism" and a modern "blood libel". The Swedish government refused, citing freedom of the press
and the country's constitution
.
opened its first store in Tel Aviv
in 2010, followed by five more stores across the country. More stores are planned for the Gush Dan area.
in 1953, with local branches opening in Gothenburg
and Malmö
the following year. Today the association comprises 26 local branches with a membership of 3,000.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
History
Sweden voted in favor of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, which lead to the creation of the State of Israel. Relations between Sweden and Israel were good during the 1950s and 1960s, during Tage ErlanderTage Erlander
was a Swedish politician. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and Prime Minister of Sweden from 1946 to 1969...
's tenure as Prime Minister of Sweden
Prime Minister of Sweden
The Prime Minister is the head of government in the Kingdom of Sweden. Before the creation of the office of a Prime Minister in 1876, Sweden did not have a head of government separate from its head of state, namely the King, in whom the executive authority was vested...
. Erlander expressed strong support for Israel during the Six-Day War
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War , also known as the June War, 1967 Arab-Israeli War, or Third Arab-Israeli War, was fought between June 5 and 10, 1967, by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt , Jordan, and Syria...
.
Olof Palme
Olof Palme
Sven Olof Joachim Palme was a Swedish politician. A long-time protegé of Prime Minister Tage Erlander, Palme led the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1969 to his assassination, and was a two-term Prime Minister of Sweden, heading a Privy Council Government from 1969 to 1976 and a cabinet...
, who succeeded Erlander as Swedish Prime Minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party
Swedish Social Democratic Party
The Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party, , contesting elections as 'the Workers' Party – the Social Democrats' , or sometimes referred to just as 'the Social Democrats' and most commonly as Sossarna ; is the oldest and largest political party in Sweden. The party was founded in 1889...
in 1969, was more critical of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and its allies, including Israel. In 1969, the Social Democratic Party adopted a neutral
Neutrality (international relations)
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
stance in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
. The new policy was justified by the Swedish diplomat Gunnar Jarring
Gunnar Jarring
Gunnar Valfrid Jarring was a Swedish diplomat and Turkologist.Jarring was born in Brunnby, Höganäs Municipality, Skåne County , Sweden. He earned a Ph.D. from Lund University in 1933 with his dissertation Studien zu einer osttürkischen Lautlehre...
's position as the United Nations Secretary-General's special envoy in the conflict (the so-called Jarring Mission
Jarring Mission
The Jarring Mission refers to efforts undertaken by Gunnar Jarring to achieve a peaceful settlement of the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors following the Six-Day War in 1967...
).
In October 1973, during the Yom Kippur War
Yom Kippur War
The Yom Kippur War, Ramadan War or October War , also known as the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Fourth Arab-Israeli War, was fought from October 6 to 25, 1973, between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria...
, Sweden's Minister for Foreign Affairs Krister Wickman
Krister Wickman
Hans Krister Wickman was a Swedish politician. He served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1971 to 1973. He was Governor of Sveriges Riksbank from 1973 to 1976. He also served as Minister of Industry from 1969 to 1971.- References :...
criticized Israel and said the problems in the Middle East could not be solved by military superiority. In June 1981, Sweden condemned Israel's attack
Operation Opera
Operation Babylon was a surprise Israeli air strike carried out on June 7, 1981, that destroyed a nuclear reactor under construction 17 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, Iraq....
on the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
as a "clear violation of international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
". In July 1982, after Israel's invasion of Lebanon
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War , , called Operation Peace for Galilee by Israel, and later known in Israel as the Lebanon War and First Lebanon War, began on 6 June 1982, when the Israel Defense Forces invaded southern Lebanon...
, Prime Minister Olof Palme compared Israel's treatment of Palestinian children to Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
's treatment of Jewish children in the concentration camps
Nazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
and ghettos of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In December 1988, PLO chairman Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa al-Husseini , popularly known as Yasser Arafat or by his kunya Abu Ammar , was a Palestinian leader and a Laureate of the Nobel Prize. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization , President of the Palestinian National Authority...
visited Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
by invitation of the Swedish government. After two days of negotiations, Arafat announced that he would now accept Israel's right to exist and he denounced all forms of terrorism.
In October 1999, Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson
Göran Persson
Hans Göran Persson was the Prime Minister of Sweden from 1996 to 2006 and the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2007. Conceding defeat in the September 2006 general election, he announced that he would resign as party leader, and Mona Sahlin was elected to succeed him as...
visited Israel, offering to broker the Middle East peace process. Persson's visit was the first official visit for a Swedish Prime Minister since Tage Erlander's visit in 1962.
In January 2004, Israel's ambassador to Sweden Zvi Mazel
Zvi Mazel
Zvi Mazel is an Israeli diplomat. He was the Israeli ambassador to Sweden from 2002 to 2004, after serving as ambassador in Egypt from 1996 to 2001 and, later, Romania...
vandalized a piece of artwork by Swedish-Israeli artist Dror Feiler
Dror Feiler
Dror Elimelech Feiler is a Swedish-Israeli musician, artist and leftist activist. He has been living in Stockholm, Sweden since 1973. He is married to the artist Gunilla Sköld-Feiler...
on display at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities
Swedish Museum of National Antiquities
Swedish Museum of National Antiquities is a museum located in Stockholm, Sweden that covers Swedish cultural history and art from the Stone Age to the 16th century...
in Stockholm, presenting a portrait of Palestinian suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat
Hanadi Jaradat
Hanadi Tayseer Abdul Malek Jaradat , a Palestinian suicide bomber from Jenin, blew herself up on Saturday, October 4, 2003 in an attack on Maxim's restaurant in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Twenty-one people were killed and 51 injured. Among the dead were four Israeli children and three...
as "Snow White." Mazel's actions sparked a diplomatic incident between the two countries.
During the 2006 Lebanon War, Minister for Foreign Affairs Jan Eliasson
Jan Eliasson
Jan Kenneth Eliasson is a Swedish diplomat and Social Democratic politician.- Biography :Jan Eliasson was born in a working-class family in Gothenburg. He was an AFS exchange student in Indiana, United States, from 1957 to 1958 and was commissioned reserve officer after military training at the...
condemned both the actions of Hezbollah and the Israeli response . During the Gaza War in January 2009, Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt
Carl Bildt
, Honorary KCMG is a Swedish politician, diplomat and nobleman. Formerly Prime Minister of Sweden from 1991 to 1994 and leader of the liberal conservative Moderate Party from 1986 to 1999, Bildt has served as Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs since 6 October 2006...
criticised Israel and called for an immediate ceasefire
In August 2009, a diplomatic row erupted after the publication of an article in the Swedish daily Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet
Aftonbladet is a Swedish tabloid founded by Lars Johan Hierta in 1830 during the modernization of Sweden. It is one of the larger daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. Aftonbladet is owned by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation and Norwegian media group Schibsted, and its editorial page...
that claimed the srael Defense Forces had engaged in organ harvesting
Organ harvesting
Organ harvesting refers to the removal, preservation and use of human organs and tissue from the bodies of the recently deceased to be used in surgical transplants on the living...
from dead Palestinians. Israel called on the Swedish government to condemn the article, which it described as a "manifestation of antisemitism" and a modern "blood libel". The Swedish government refused, citing freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
and the country's constitution
Constitution of Sweden
The Swedish Constitution consists of four fundamental laws :* The 1810 Act of Succession * The 1949 Freedom of the Press Act * The 1974 Instrument of Government * The 1991 Fundamental Law on Freedom of Expression...
.
Commercial ties
The Swedish clothing chain H&MH&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
opened its first store in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
in 2010, followed by five more stores across the country. More stores are planned for the Gush Dan area.
Cultural ties
The Sweden–Israel Friendship Association is a Swedish-based organization that works to promote cultural ties between Israel and Sweden. It was established in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
in 1953, with local branches opening in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
and Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
the following year. Today the association comprises 26 local branches with a membership of 3,000.
See also
- 2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversyThe Aftonbladet-Israel controversy refers to the controversy that followed the publication of a 17 August 2009 article in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet alleging that Israeli troops harvested organs from Palestinians that died in their custody. The article sparked a fierce debate in Sweden and...
- Snow White and The Madness of TruthSnow White and The Madness of TruthSnow White and The Madness of Truth was an item of installation art by Swedish, Israeli-born composer and musician Dror Feiler, and his Swedish wife, artist Gunilla Sköld-Feiler...
- History of the Jews in SwedenHistory of the Jews in SwedenThe History of the Jews in Sweden probably began with arrivals from the Hanseatic League in medieval times, but there are no records. In Elizabethan times it was common for European royalty to have Jewish doctors at court, and there is a record of a Jewish doctor who served Gustav Vasa in the 16th...