Swedish newspaper article causes an uproar

Suggestions in an article published in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet that Israeli soldiers killed Palestinians and extracted their organs have triggered a storm of indignant protest in Israel. The daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet voices concern about press freedom: "Freedom of opinion and the press are an integral part of democracy - as is diversity. Aftonbladet should be ashamed of itself, but that does not hold for all of Sweden's press. The comment made by the Swedish ambassador to Tel Aviv, Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier, seems even more odd. 'The article in Aftonbladet is as shocking and repulsive to us Swedes as it is to Israeli citizens', she wrote on the embassy's homepage. … But since when has it been the task of the government to speak in the name of all Swedes via an ambassador and to criticise an article published by the independent press? We must have the courage to believe in press freedom and open debate. Even when some editors make foolish decisions that are in bad taste."

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