2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy
The Aftonbladet–Israel controversy was a controversy that followed the publication of a 17 August 2009 article in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. The article said that Israeli troops harvested organs from Palestinians who had died in their custody. Sparking a fierce debate in Sweden and abroad, the article created a rift between the Swedish and the Israeli governments.[1][2] Israeli officials denounced the report at the time and labelled it anti-Semitic. Written by Swedish freelance[2] photojournalist Donald Boström, the article's title was Våra söner plundras på sina organ ("Our sons are being plundered for their organs"). It presented allegations that in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, many young men from the West Bank and Gaza Strip had been seized by Israeli forces and their bodies returned to their families with organs missing.
The Israeli government and several US representatives
In December 2009, a 2000 interview with the chief pathologist at the L. Greenberg National Institute of Forensic Medicine Yehuda Hiss was released in which he had admitted taking organs from the corpses of Israelis, Palestinians and foreign workers without their families' permission. Israeli health officials confirmed Hiss's confession but stated that such incidents had ended in the 1990s and noted that Hiss had been removed from his post.[11][12][13]
The Palestinian press claimed the report "appeared to confirm Palestinians' allegations that Israel returned their relatives' bodies with their chests sewn up, having harvested their organs".[14]
Several news agencies reported that the Aftonbladet article had claimed that Israel killed Palestinians to harvest their organs,[15] although the author, the culture editor for Aftonbladet, and Nancy Scheper-Hughes denied that it had made that claim.[16]
Article
In August 2009, Aftonbladet ran an article by freelance writer Donald Boström in its culture section. The article opened by mentioning arrests related to a suspected money-laundering and organ-trafficking operation involving rabbis, politicians and civil servants in New Jersey and New York. Briefly introducing the problem of the illegal organ trade worldwide, Boström then related that he heard and saw things during his stay in the Palestinian territories in 1992, during the First Intifada.[17]
A photograph accompanying the article depicted a cadaver with a line of stitches on the torso, identified as that of Bilal Ghanem, who was 19 when he was killed by IDF soldiers on 13 May 1992.[18] The Ghanem family was not interviewed for his article, but Boström described his impressions of Ghanem's burial, which he attended:
Together with the sharp noises from the shovels we could hear occasional laughter from the soldiers who, as they waited to go home, exchanged some jokes. As Bilal was put in the grave his chest was uncovered and suddenly it became clear to the few people present just what kind of abuse he had been exposed to. Bilal was not by far the first to be buried with a slit from his abdomen up to his chin and speculations on the intent started.[17]
The next paragraph of the article quoted other Palestinian families and reads as follows:
The affected Palestinian families in the West Bank and Gaza were sure of what happened to their sons. Our sons are used as involuntary organ donors, relatives of Khaled from Nablus told me, as did the mother of Raed from Jenin and the uncles of Machmod and Nafes from Gaza, who had all disappeared for a number of days only to return at night, dead and autopsied.
– Why would they otherwise keep the bodies for up to five days before they let us bury them? What happened to the bodies during that time? Why are they performing an autopsy when the cause of death is obvious, and in all cases against our will? Why are the bodies returned at night? And why with a military escort? And why is the area closed off during the funeral? And why is the electricity cut off? There were lots of upset questions from Nafes uncle.[17]
Boström also wrote that unnamed UN staff members had told him that "organ theft definitely occurred" but that they had been "prevented from doing anything about it".[17] He also reported the response of the IDF spokesperson as being that the allegations of organ theft were lies and that all Palestinian victims are routinely subjected to autopsy. Boström noted that according to Palestinian statistics for 1992, Bilal Ghanem had been one of 133 Palestinians killed and one of 69 going through postmortem examination. Boström concluded the article with his opinion: questions on what was happening remained unanswered and should be investigated.[17]
Meanwhile, family members of Bilal Ghanem, the Palestinian at the centre of the article's allegations, stated that they had never told Boström that Ghanem's organs had been removed. However, even though they never spoke to Boström and lacked any proof to confirm the allegations, they thought that Bilal had been deprived of some organs.
Israeli reactions
Government
The claim in the article sparked an angry reaction by Israeli Foreign Ministry official Yigal Palmor, who associated the article with mediaeval and 19th-century
Netanyahu said that history was replete with blood libel against Jews that have led to murder: "These matters cannot be taken lightly. We are not asking from the Swedes anything that we did not ask of ourselves". He reminded his ministers that in February 2009, after a satirical skit on the
had expressed regret and sorrow. Netanyahu commented: "I don't recall that Olmert's condemnation damaged press freedom in Israel".The
The
Admission
On 23 December 2009, after Israeli government officials admitted that organ harvesting had taken place in the 1990s, parliamentary hearings into the issue began in Israel's
Media
The editorial line of Ha'aretz was much harsher: "Donald Bostrom, a veteran Swedish journalist, wrote a despicable, utterly baseless article".
Maariv published an article reporting that much of Boström's story had come from his book Inshallah (2001), which it stated to have been partly financed by the Swedish Foreign Ministry.[34][35]
Civil society
Yoram Peri head of the Chaim Herzog Institute for Media, Politics and Society at Tel Aviv University, said the report touched a raw nerve among Israelis, who harbour deep distrust towards Europe and believe its newspapers to be pro-Palestinian. Agreeing on the lack of merit in the article, he suggests, however, that politicians had blown the controversy out of proportion for political purposes: "Lieberman expressed the feeling of many Israelis who do not understand the European narrative, and they think that any criticism comes from total misunderstanding of the Middle East, or because Europe is totally antisemitic and pro-Palestinian. Very few politicians, unfortunately, are sophisticated enough to distinguish between legitimate criticism and attacks by those with other motives".[36]
Former diplomat Colette Avital said that Sweden should know the difference between freedom of the press and freedom of opinion: "freedom of expression is not unlimited, even in that beautiful northern country". She criticised Israeli official and media reactions as "blown out of all reasonable proportion" and the Israeli Foreign Minister for voicing "ridiculous and ultimately harmful threats" of cancelling the Swedish minister's visit or refusing entry to Swedish journalists.[37]
A support meeting of families of Israeli and Palestinian donors of organs and tissues on 26 August at Sourasky Medical Center, in Tel Aviv, discussed the report. Participants stressed a message that "organ donation is saving lives without any conditions" and called the report black propaganda against Israel.[38]
Swedish reactions
Government
Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier, the Swedish ambassador to Israel, strongly condemned the article: "The article in the Swedish newspaper is shocking and terrifying for us Swedes, as it influences the Israeli citizens.... The embassy can not emphasize more its disgust".
Mårten Schultz, senior lecturer in jurisprudence, thought that the appeals to freedom of speech were "attempts to use the rhetorically convincing status of the freedom of expression and press legislation in order to pursue a political agenda" and exhorted politicians and journalists to bring out and read the Freedom of the Press Act before they said what the government is not entitled to do.[41] The Office of the Chancellor of Justice said that although, the government can not criticize the decision to publish, it might go further in its criticism of the article without violating the Constitution although that might be "inappropriate". The literal words by the Chancellor of Justice, Göran Lambertz, were the following, according to the Swedish news agency, Tidningarnas Telegrambyrå: "It is not completely clear where the limits are. There is rather a lot one may do, according to the constitution, even if it were to be regarded as politically and legally inappropriate".[42]
On 6 September 2009, Bildt announced the cancellation of a trip he planned to make to Israel on 11 September. There was some speculation in Israel and elsewhere that it was related to the controversy.[43] However, Swedish officials denied that.[44]
Legal complaints
The Swedish
Nils Funcke, a Swedish journalist and author on the Swedish constitution, predicted that the Swedish ambassador to Israel would be criticized for her initiative. The question, he said, was how sharp the criticism would be and how the government would react. Despite his deep concerns regarding the quality of journalism in the article, he called it "unthinkable" that the chancellor's office would take legal action on its contents.[48]
Donald Boström and Aftonbladet
The author of the article, Donald Boström, spoke to
Boström told Israeli newspaper
Other media
The Swedish rival newspaper Sydsvenskan sharply criticized Aftonbladet for publishing what it called "an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory".[53] Henrik Bredberg in Sydsvenskan said:
"Donald Boström publicised a variant of an anti-Semitic classic, the Jew who abducts children and steals their blood.... The regrettable aspects just seem to grow and grow... the Israeli government rages and speaks of an article which 'shames Swedish democracy and the entire Swedish press'. Hardly. Freedom of expression and freedom of the press are part of democracy.... Dare to believe in freedom of the press and open debate. Even when individual editors make stupid and tasteless decisions."[54]
An editorial in Göteborgs-Posten stated:
"The Foreign Ministry has made it clear that Swedish freedom of the press applies. Good. Aftonbladet should not be given the unwarranted glory of martyrdom.... Publication seems to represent an obvious lack of judgment. Unfortunately the lack of judgment did not stop there. The Swedish ambassador in Tel Aviv... attacked the article and thereby created the impression that having views about or intervening in individual publications should be a task for the government and its representatives."[54]
Several political commentators pointed out that Sweden held the presidency of the Council of the European Union at the time of the dispute. From an Israeli point of view, they say, discrediting Sweden as anti-Semitic might be a way to prevent European criticism of Israel's policies.[55][56][57]
Swedish-Jewish community
Lena Posner-Körösi, a leader of
Anders Carlberg, the outgoing chairman of the Jewish Community in Gothenburg called Israel's response "unhelpful". He said that Israel should have responded by publishing a rebuttal: "The stance of the community in general is that it's strange that this has become a government issue at all.... It falls along the lines of Voltaire: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it."[61]
Palestinian reactions
Palestinian Authority
On 3 Sep 2009, the
In November 2015, in a letter to the UN, the Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations accused Israel of continuing to harvest organs from Palestinians killed by its forces. Riyad Mansour said that was a confirmation of "past reports about organ harvesting", which prompted Israel to reject the allegations and condemn them as anti-Semitic.[63][64]
Ghanem family and relatives
According to The Jerusalem Post, Jalal Ghanem, the brother of Bilal Ghanem, whose photograph had accompanied Boström's article, could not confirm the allegations. Jalal said that Bilal was evacuated by the IDF in a helicopter after he had been shot. His corpse was delivered to the family a few days later, and there were stitches on Bilal's body that ran from the chest down to the bottom of the abdomen, and his teeth were missing. Jalal also said that the only time the family saw the Swedish photographer was at Bilal's funeral photographing the event.[18] In subsequent interview with Al-Jazeera, he added that he thought Bilal was among those who had their organs stolen.[19]
Their mother denied having told any foreign journalist that her son's organs had been stolen, The Jerusalem Post reported in its article. However, she did not rule out the possibility that Israel was harvesting organs of Palestinians. Another relative of the family, Ibrahim Ghanem, said that the family never told the Swedish photographer that Israel had stolen organs from Bilal's body and speculated, "Maybe the journalist reached that conclusion on the basis of the stitches he saw on the body." He also said that the family had no evidence on whether the organs were removed because they had not had an autopsy conducted.[18]
In an interview with Aftonbladet made one week after the original article, Jalal Ghanem and Bilal's mother, Saadega Ghanem, still stood by their allegations and also claimed that Bilal was still alive when he had been taken away. They also claimed that IDF soldiers tried to prevent journalists from taking pictures of the body.[65]
Media
Palestinian journalist Khalid Amayreh reported in an article in Al-Ahram that prior accusations of organ harvesting had been made by representatives of the Palestinian Authority, including by late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Amayreh noted that no genuine investigation had ever been carried out into the Palestinian allegations of unauthorized organ harvesting even though they had dated to before the 1990s.[9]
Jonathan Cook writing for Al-Ahram Weekly, said that Western journalists had heard about such rumours. According to Cook, "the families making the claims were not given a hearing in the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the first Intifada, when most of the reports occurred, and are still being denied the right to voice their concerns today".[23] In an article for the Scottish Daily Record, British politician George Galloway asserted that Israel was "playing mini-Mengele on Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails", a reference to the Nazi physician Josef Mengele.[66]
Civil society
In September 2009, hundreds of Palestinians attended a conference marking the "national day for the return of the bodies of martyrs" in
Reactions from elsewhere
Iran
The Iranian state newspaper Kayhan quoted Arab reporter Kusar Aslam, who claims to have been stationed in Gaza and the West Bank for 22 years, as saying, "Since the early 1970s the Israelis have snatched thousands of Palestinian bodies from hospitals in the territories and transferred them to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute.... My personal experience verifies the report published by (Donald) Boström". She said that the IDF kidnapped living Palestinians: "I personally witnessed Israeli soldiers and army vehicles snatching Palestinian bodies from emergency rooms. In other instances I saw soldiers follow Palestinians to cemeteries with the intent of stealing bodies before they were buried. This became so widespread that many people began to bury those murdered by IDF forces near their homes – in the yard or under a tree".[68]
Syria
Syrian President
Yossi Levy, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's spokesman said Shaaban's praise for the article should be a "warning light" for the Swedish government, which "unfortunately has still not fully and courageously condemned the article".[69]
United States
In a letter to the Swedish prime minister, Representatives Robert Wexler (D-FL) and Elton Gallegly (R-CA), members on the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, wrote: "Given the far-reaching implications for this article, which raises the unfortunate specter of similar
Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of U.S. Helsinki Commission, released a press release that urged European foreign ministers to denounce the Aftonbladet article: "We at the U.S. Helsinki Commission are dedicated to upholding human rights, particularly freedom of the press. But with freedom of the press comes responsibility. And when major press outlets fail to meet their responsibility, and instead raise the specter of racism or anti-Semitism, then public officials are duty bound to speak out and condemn such blatant falsehoods. I commend Sweden's Ambassador to Israel for fulfilling this duty, and I call on the Swedish Government, which currently holds the European Union Presidency, to support Italian and other EU efforts to denounce this harmful reporting".[4]
Co-Chairman of US Helsinki Commission Senator Alcee Hastings (D-FL) said, "This incendiary article draws on age old anti-Semitic imagery, and attempts to place it in a modern context of worrisome hostility in Europe towards both Jews and Israel. Government leaders must demand the press act with journalistic integrity and report responsibly, particularly when it can incite the violent potential of anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred".[4]
In a video on its website on 24 August 2014,
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders expressed regret that Israel had gone after the Swedish government for a condemnation: "Regardless of the article's content and although we understand the public outcry it has triggered in Israel, the Israeli authorities must refrain from asking their Swedish counterparts to intervene.... "Aftonbladet alone is responsible for the articles it publishes. The Swedish government is not responsible".[75]
Italy
In an interview with Haa'rez on 31 August,
Later that day, the Swedish news agency TT quoted Carl Bildt as denying the Frattini's conclusion and reported that the head of communications at the Swedish Foreign Ministry, Cecilia Julin, denied that Bildt and Frattini even had discussed the dispute or a possible resolution at the Council of Ministers: "From the Swedish side we have no plans to handle this question through the informal foreign ministers' meeting in Stockholm". According to her, Bildt suggested that Frattini's comment must have arisen through an "Italian misunderstanding". Reinfeldt also insisted that the Swedish government could not take a stand because of Sweden's freedom of the press. At a press conference in Stockholm, he said: "We cannot be asked by anyone to contravene the Swedish constitution, and this is something we will also not do within the European Union".[76]
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not comment on Frattini's initiative. However, Palmor said: "Every initiative against anti-Semitism is welcome. But if the declaration is general and does not specifically relate to the article in Aftonbladet, it will not resolve anything". He added that "We did not ask for an apology, or for measures against the newspaper or the journalist. All we asked of Sweden and the Swedes is that they reject and decry the content of the report. And our position has not changed".[7]
Yehuda Hiss interview
In December 2009,
Israeli officials acknowledged that such incidents had taken place but stated that neither Israelis nor Palestinians had been specifically targeted, that no such incidents had occurred for a long time and that Hiss had been removed from his position.[80]
Scheper-Hughes stated that Palestinians were not the only ones affected "by a long shot" but that she felt the interview must be made public now because "the symbolism, you know, of taking skin of the population considered to be the enemy, (is) something, just in terms of its symbolic weight, that has to be reconsidered".[81]
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Scheper-Hughes said the organ harvesting took place with the "sanction and approval" of the military establishment and that the "body parts were used by hospitals for transplant purposes – cornea transplants. They were sent to public hospitals [for use on citizens]... and the skin went to a special skin bank, founded by the military, for their uses", like for burns victims.[82]
See also
- Snow White and The Madness of Truth
- Zahra's Blue Eyes
- Israel–Sweden relations
- Organ donation in Israel
- Organ harvesting / Organ theft
- New antisemitism
- Shylock
- Blood libel
- Race card
- Weaponization of antisemitism
References
- ^ a b "Article about organ harvesting sparks Israel-Sweden tiff" Los Angeles Times 24 August 2009
- ^ a b Paper's organ harvesting article causes Israel–Sweden rift, CNN 17 August 2009
- ^ a b "U.S. Congressmen to EU: Condemn IDF organ harvesting article - Haaretz - Israel News". Archived from the original on 6 September 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ a b c "CARDIN, HASTINGS CALL ON EUROPEAN LEADERS TO DENOUNCE ANTI-SEMITIC ARTICLE IN SWEDISH PRESS". Archived from the original on 10 September 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- ^ Sweden: Not party to envoy's censure of IDF organ harvesting article Archived 3 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Haaretz 20 August 2009
- ^ Tidningsutgivarna (12 August 2010). "Tafsa inte på tryck- och yttrandefriheten". Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
- ^ a b c Primor, Adar (31 August 2009). "Following inflammatory article, Sweden to demand EU condemn anti-Semitism". Haaretz. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ Ali Waked (3 September 2009). "PA to probe 'IDF organ harvesting'". Ynetnews. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
- ^ a b Horrid beyond words by Khalid Amayreh, published in Al-Ahram. Retrieved 26 September 2009. Archived 2009-09-28.
- ^ Israelartikel ratas av kulturchefer, Svenska Dagbladet, 26 August 2009
- ^ Israel harvested organs in '90s without permission Google News 20 December 2009.
- ^ Black, Ian (21 December 2009). "Doctor admits Israeli pathologists harvested organs without consent". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 12 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ "Israel tog organ – utan tillstånd". Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "Israel". Maan News Agency. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ * Israeli army admits stealing organs, AP (reprinted in The Daily Telegraph 21 December 2009)
- Israeli army admits stealing organs, AP (reprinted in Boston Globe 21 December 2009)
- Swedish newspaper called anti-Semitic, UPI 18 August 2009
- Israel fury at Sweden organ claim, BBC News 21 August 2009
- Israel hits back over Swedish organ harvesting article, CNN 23 August 2009
- [1]
- Authors who contributed to outlet(s) named: Irish Times Archived 17 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine database search 18 February 2010
- Israeli PM predicts more West Bank homes will be built, Irish Times 7 September 2009
- Berthelsen, Morten; Ravid, David; et al Top Sweden newspaper says IDF kills Palestinians for their organs Haaretz 18 August 2009
- Editorial: "'Aftonbladet' to Neve Gordon" Archived 24 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine The Jerusalem Post, 23 August 2009
- ^ Navier, Hanna "Donald Boström: Israel har inte förstått artikeln" Archived 26 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine ("Donald Boström: Israel has not understood the article") Second Opinion, 19 August 2009 (in Swedish)
- ^ a b c d e Original article in Swedish: Aftonbladet, August 17, 2009: ”Våra söner plundras på sina organ”, Aftonbladet: "Our sons are plundered of their organs". (third party translation: Aftonbladet: "Our sons plundered for their organs".)
- ^ a b c d Abu Toameh, Khaled (25 August 2009). "Palestinian family: We didn't say organs taken". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ a b Palestinians seek organ theft probe Al Jazeera 28 August 2009
- ^ Swedish editor: I'm not a Nazi, Ynet News 24 August 2009
- ^ Israel Furious Over Swedish Newspaper Article, Associated Press 19 August 2009 (reprinted in FOX News)
- ^ Report: IDF organ harvesting reporter 'rethinking' story, Haaretz 12-1—2009
- ^ a b But did it happen?. Jonathan Cook, Al-Ahram Weekly. Issue No. 963, 3–9 September 2009. Archived on 15 January 2010
- ^ "Swedish reporter repeats IDF organ theft allegations, this time in Israel". Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "KULTUR: Nu faller domarna i den israeliska organhärvan". Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ Macdonald, Alastair (19 August 2009). "Israel slams Swedish tabloid's organ theft story". Reuters. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ "Israel curbs Swedish media over 'blood libel'". Reuters. 23 August 2009. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ Boudreaux, Richard (24 August 2009). "Article about organ harvesting sparks Israel-Sweden tiff". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ a b Keinon, Herb (23 August 2009). "Ministers fume over Swedish story". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
- ^ "Israel opens organ theft hearing". Al Jazeera. 23 December 2009. Archived from the original on 26 December 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
- Ha'aretz. Archived from the originalon 26 November 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
- ^ a b A bewildering response Ha'aretz 23 August 2009.
- ^ "'משרד החוץ השבדי מימן תחקיר 'גניבת האיברים" (Swedish Foreign Ministry Financed "study" of Stealing the Organs) Maariv (in Hebrew)
- ^ Jpost.com Staff (23 August 2009). "Swedish officials may be unwelcome". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ "Israeli officials press Sweden on journalist's organ theft story". Christian Science Monitor. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "Israel News – Online Israeli News Covering Israel & The Jewish World …". 9 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ Rubinstein, Elad (30 August 2009). "'We gave them life. So what if they're Arabs?'". Ynetnews. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "חדשות 2: שגרירת שוודיה: "מזועזעת מהכתבה"". Archived from the original on 22 August 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ Bildt, Carl (20 August 2009). "Principer och praktik" [Principles and practice] (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 August 2009.
- ^ Mårten Schultz: Inget grundlagshinder för att kritisera Aftonbladet Archived 28 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine ("No constitutional ban on criticism of Aftonbladet") Newsmill.se, 24 augusti 2009.
- TT, 25 August 2009. ("Law allows tougher criticism of article") (in Swedish)
- ^ "Sweden's foreign minister cancels Israel visit". CBC News. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
- ^ "Israel News – Online Israeli News Covering Israel & The Jewish World …". 9 July 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "Sweden's free speech tradition runs into Israeli ire by Igor Gedilaghine for Agence France-Presse". Archived from the original on 10 April 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ Andén, Axel (25 August 2009). "Två JK-anmälningar efter Aftonbladets artikel om organhandel" [Two reports to the JK after the Aftonbladet article on organ trade] (in Swedish). Mediavärlden. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ Aftonbladet: Publiceringen är inte antisemitisk ("The publishing is not antisemitic")
- ^ Funcke, Nils (31 August 2009). "Nils Funcke: Aftonbladet kritiserades för tidigt" [Nils Funcke: Aftonbladet was criticized to early] (in Swedish). Mediavärlden. Retrieved 6 September 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Friedman, Matti (19 August 2009). "Israel furious over Swedish newspaper article". Associated Press. Retrieved 19 August 2009.[dead link]
- ^ Swedish paper's organ harvesting article draws Israeli outrage, CNN. Retrieved 24 August 2009.
- ^ "'Aftonbladet' editor admits no evidence on organ-harvesting". The Jerusalem Post. 24 August 2009. Archived from the original on 17 September 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ Gur, Yonatan (24 August 2009). "Swedish editor: I'm not a Nazi". Ynetnews. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ Berthelsen, Morten (19 August 2009). "Swedish newspaper 'blood libel' sparks harsh condemnation". Haaretz. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- ^ a b "Israeli and Swedish press on organ row". BBC News. 24 August 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "Sydsvenskan, August 24 2009: Political strategy behind Sweden-bashing". Archived from the original on 27 August 2009.
- ^ Dagens Nyheter, August 24, 2009: Ordförandeskapet i EU störs av Israels ordkrig[permanent dead link] ("Presidency disturbed by Israel's verbal assault") (in Swedish)
- ^ Dagen, August 25, 2009: Arne Lapidus: Att slagkraftigt angripa verkliga och inbillade fiender ger ofta inrikespolitiska pluspoäng Archived 7 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine ("All-out attacks on real and imagined enemies often lead to gains in domestic politics") (in Swedish)
- ^ "'Those who don't condemn Swedish story may not be welcome'". The Jerusalem Post. 23 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
- ^ "Stockholm Jewish leader: Israel caused this mess" Ynet 23 August 2009
- ^ Posner-Körösi, Lena (30 August 2010). "Hets mot folkgrupp". Letter to Editor. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ "The organ harvesting controversy: Did Sweden fumble or Israel overreact?". JTA – Jewish & Israel News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- ^ Ma'an News, "High level PA panel to investigate 'organ theft' claims", 3 September 2009. Maan News Agency: High level PA panel to investigate "organ theft" claims
- ^ Israel blasts Palestinians after accusations of organ-harvesting. Reuters, 4 November 2015
- ^ "PA claims Israel harvesting organs of dead Palestinians". The Times of Israel. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ "Mamma har aldrig slutat lida". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2009.
- ^ Elgot, Jessica (29 December 2009). "Galloway compares Israel to Nazi doctor Mengele". London: The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
- ^ Sharon Roffe Ofir (8 September 2009). "Barakeh justifies organs trafficking claims". Ynetnews. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
- ^ Cohen, Dudi (1 September 2009). "Iranian reporter: Swedish article on IDF organ harvesting 'credible'". Ynetnews. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ Keinon, Herb (3 September 2009). "Spanish paper turns to Irving for WWII 'expertise'". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 5 September 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Israel News – Haaretz Israeli News source. Archived 10 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 September 2009. Archived 2009-09-26.
- ^ "Press Release|ADL". Archived from the original on 8 April 2010.
- ^ "European Jewish Press". Archived from the original on 22 August 2009.
- ^ a b "Time Magazine Accuses IDF of Stealing Palestinia Organs". HonestReporting – 24 August 2014. 24 August 2014.
- ^ JTA. "Time retracts IDF organ harvesting allegation". The Times of Israel – 25 August 2014.
- ^ Swedish government refuses to condemn national newspaper’s perceived libel Reporters Without Borders 25 August 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2009. Archived 2009-09-26.
- ^ Keinon, Herb (31 August 2009). "Bildt says no plan to condemn anti-Semitism". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 September 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Israel admits to organ thefts Al Jazeera, 21 December 2009.
- ^ "Hiss fired for repeated body-part scandals" The Jerusalem Post, 11 May 2004 (archived at Highbeam).
- ^ Deputy Health Minister Fires Abu Kabir Chief Pathologist Yehuda Hiss. Dan Even, Haaretz, 16 October 2012. Archived 17 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Israel harvested organs without permission, officials say CNN, 21 December 2009.
- ^ Israel admits organ harvesting, Irish Times 21 December 2009.
- ^ "Israel admits to organ thefts". english.aljazeera.net. Retrieved 10 October 2018.