Swedish politician quits after ‘Jewish pigs’ slur online
Politician quits after ‘Jewish pigs’ slur online
Published: 05 Aug 2014 11:28 GMT+02:00
Updated: 05 Aug 2014 14:28 GMT+02:00
Omar Omeirat, Social Democrat candidate for the town council of Filipstad, central Sweden, gave a speech in the town on Friday evening advocating diversity and openness.
On Saturday he sang a very different tune.
“The entire Muslim world is sitting and watching while our brothers and sisters in Palestine are slaughtered by the Jewish pigs,” Omeritat wrote on his Facebook page.
“May Allah strengthen those who defend Palestine, and be merciful towards the dead Muslims. Amen.”
His Facebook page also included a flag used by the Islamist group Isis, local paper NWT reported.
The post quickly became public knowledge, and the young politician came under fire for his choice of words.
“I called Omar about what he had written, and he said that he had watched a film where Palestinian women and children were murdered by Jews,” Åsa Hååkman Feldt, Social Democrat spokeswoman in Filipstad, told The Local.
Omeirat quickly regretted the post, and updated his Facebook status to an apology.
“He never meant to judge people who are Jews, Christians, or anything else,” Feldt explained. “He just meant to judge Israel as a state.”
On Tuesday it was announced he would be stepping down from his position.
“I regret what I said,” Omeirat told Sveriges Television. “It was the wrong choice of words and no one should say something like that.”
Feldt confirmed that Omeirat had decided to leave politics, and said it was entirely his own choice.
“Of course we condemn his statement,” Feldt told The Local. “But it is Omar himself who has decided that he should take the consequences for his actions and leave the party.”
Feldt called the situation “unusual”, saying that the most common reason to step down is sickness. She explained that the town’s voting slips are already printed and that Omeirat’s name will still be on the list, but that he will not be eligible for a position in autumn elections.
“You really have to think about what you write on Facebook, especially as a politician,” Feldt added. “It’s a public record and there are consequences.”
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Löfven: Israel has the right to defend itself
Published: 13 Jul 2014 14:31 GMT+02:00
Updated: 13 Jul 2014 14:31 GMT+02:00
The election favourite posted the comment on Saturday night and within minutes he was on the receiving end of angry replies from users of the social network.
“Israel must respect international law but obviously has the right to defend itself. It is a huge tragedy that the violence escalates,” Löfven wrote.
Most of the comments were critical of the political party leader’s stance with one user posting; “Israel kills right now Palestinian children every day. Is that self-defence?”
Several other people said they had no intention in voting for Löfven in September following the remark.
Others said he was letting the Social Democrats down by not maintaining the stance of the late Olof Palme and Anna Lindh, who were critical of Israel when they were in office.
“It is fairly modest wording but that makes no difference, it is an issue where there is only room for two opinions,” political scientist Stig-Björn Ljunggren told Aftonbladet.
Löfven’s comment appears to clash with a statement released by the Social Democrats’ foreign policy spokesperson Urban Ahlin. In a press release issued on Thursday Ahlin stated that the party needed to be clear in its reaction against the Israeli bombing of Gaza.
He also condemned the Hamas rocket fire against Israel and called for a peaceful two-state solution.
“It’s very surprising (what Löfven wrote) as it differs from what the party’s foreign policy spokesperson Urban Ahlin said the other day,” Ulf Bjereld, a professor of political scientist at Gothenburg University, told Aftonbladet.
On Saturday several demonstrations were held across Sweden in protest over the Gaza bombings. A manifestation in Stockholm attracted over a 1,000 people with many carrying signs which were critical of Israel.
At the time of writing Löfven’s post has attracted more than 2,300 comments. He has yet to speak publicly on the furore surrounding his remark.
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