Swedish police have granted permission for a public gathering to take place outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, where the Torah and a Bible will be burned R”L. The request, allegedly made by a man in his 30s, has drawn strong condemnation from Israeli President Isaac Herzog. This act comes as a response to the burning of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm earlier this year, and it is being portrayed as a symbolic gesture for freedom of expression. However, burning sacred texts has ignited fury in the past and caused significant unrest in the Muslim world.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has expressed his unequivocal condemnation of the permission granted to burn holy books in Sweden. As the President of Israel, he previously condemned the burning of the Quran, which holds deep significance for Muslims worldwide. President Herzog now finds it disheartening that the same fate awaits a Jewish Bible, a cherished and eternal book for the Jewish people. He emphasizes that allowing the defacement of sacred texts is not an exercise in freedom of expression but rather an act of blatant incitement and pure hate. President Herzog urges the international community to join in condemning this repulsive act without hesitation.
The burning event is scheduled to take place on Shabbos. The organizer claims that this act is in response to the burning of the Quran outside a mosque in Stockholm earlier in the year. He portrays the gathering as a symbolic expression of freedom of speech.
The burning of the Quran in Sweden sparked outrage and anger across the Muslim world. It led to widespread protests and even the storming of the Swedish embassy in Baghdad, Iraq’s capital. The repercussions of such acts are far-reaching and can have severe consequences, as seen in the past. The decision to burn holy books, regardless of the stated intentions, has the potential to incite further unrest and deepen divisions.
Needless to say, the world has reached a new low in allowing such hate as a symbol of “free speech”. Our hope is that this will not end up taking place for one reason or another, and there should be peace all throughout the world.
Now burning the Torah in front of the Israeli Embassy?
But tell me more how tolerant and enlightened #Sweden is? This has nothing to do with ‘free speech’, but pure racial hatred and intolerance! Shame on you Sweden! @SweMFA @SwedeninIL @Polisen_Sverige @polisen_sthlm pic.twitter.com/QS7jAUUCqn
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 14, 2023
Permitting the defacement of sacred texts is not an exercise in freedom of expression, it is blatant incitement and an act of pure hate. The whole world must join together in condemning unequivocally this repulsive act.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 14, 2023
Apparently it still needs to be said, but burning a religious text, whether the Torah or Quran, in front of a place of worship, has nothing to do with ‘free speech’, but is pure hate speech and incitement to violence! Shame on #Sweden for permitting this! pic.twitter.com/U34bqvV8gk
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 14, 2023
Rather than holding to account those who burned Quran stirring hate & contempt, #Sweden decides to allow burning of Jewish Bible, on Shabbat, outside 🇮🇱 embassy in Stockholm.
Continued relinquishing of responsibility/appeasement fuels extremists burning foundations of humanity. pic.twitter.com/TysgYItJ1G
— מיכל קוטלר-וונש | Michal Cotler-Wunsh (@CotlerWunsh) July 14, 2023
