Israel's new demands on SD: “Apologise for the Holocaust”

Published 8 November 2024 at 16.39

Domestic. Despite their very strong support for Israel, the Sweden Democrats still have a “very long way to go” before the Israeli government stops considering them as Nazis.
– They must apologize for everything they have done, to the victims of the Holocaust and to the memory of the Holocaust, says Israel's ambassador in Stockholm, Ziv Nevo Kulman.

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Top representatives of the Sweden Democrats have completed trips to Israel in the past year. In connection with these trips, the SD has presented it as being treated like any other party.

In fact, the Israeli government classifies the SD as a “far-right party with roots in Nazism”, and representatives of the government should therefore not even stay in the same room as SD politicians.

In a conversation with Aftonbladet's political editor-in-chief Anders Lindberg, Israel's ambassador Ziv Nevo Kulman now confirms that the official Israeli view of SD has not changed: The government should have no collusion whatsoever with the immigration-critical Swedish party.

– Vår policy regarding far-right parties with Nazi roots has not changed, he says.

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Alexander Christiansson receives harsh criticism after the crying video.

Now promises to further strengthen his commitment to Jews. https://t.co/KUgqSuxFq1

— Fria Tider (@friatider) September 23, 2024

According to Ziv Nevo Kulman, Israel has noted that since the October 7 attack, the SD has given strong support “to Israel and its righteous war against a radical movement”.

– But they still have a very long way to go before we can actually have a dialogue with them, continues the ambassador.

Anders Lindberg reminds that SD calls itself Sweden's most Israel-friendly party and asks what the party actually needs to do to be allowed to interact with Israel.

– It is a very long process. I don't even know if they are ready for it, Ziv Nevo Kulman sighs and continues:

– But they definitely have to engage in a lot of self-examination of their own past. They must apologize for everything they have done, to the victims of the Holocaust and to the memory of the Holocaust. And they definitely need to think about a future where they do more to fight anti-Semitism. It is a long process.

The interview has quickly created a bad atmosphere. “What kind of dung is this?” asks Riksdag member Josef Fransson (SD) in a post on X.

“You apologize when you have done something wrong. Regarding the Holocaust or reverence for the victims of the Holocaust, there is no one in the Sweden Democrats in a significant position who has any to apologize for. We are pro-Israel and stand up for Jewish life in Sweden. More than many other parties can claim.

But what kind of dung is this? Is it SD as a legal entity that should apologize for what a minority of members thought or did 30 years ago? Because if it's the legal entity that's expected to apologize, it might be worth pointing out that there never was one… pic.twitter.com/HFSRjUkG5u

— Josef Fransson (@FranssonJosef) November 8, 2024