Sweden's relations with Israel

A spokesman for the Israeli government has accused Sweden of hostility towards Israel. Last month, he said, Sweden had refused to take part in a joint military exercise with Israel in Italy but received a delegation sent by Palestine's Hamas government. Columnist Niklas Ekdal says he can understand why the Israelis are frustrated: "You could say that an old social democratic tradition has been revived. Sweden embraced Yasser Arafat long before he recognised Israel's right to exist, and condemned the US. On the other hand, Iran was seen to be building up democratic institutions with painstaking precision. In the end, the Swedish election campaign could be a factor: they don't want to lose any of the Muslim immigrants' votes."

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