Change of dates for the blockade on Israeli ships and cargo to and from Israel

Press release from THE SWEDISH DOCKWORKERS UNIONThe Swedish Dockworkers Union gave notice on June 3, 2010 that their blockade of Israeli ships and cargo to and from Israel will take place from 15th-24th June. The measure was based on the Israeli attack on the Freedom Flotilla (of which the Swedish Ship to Gaza was a member), an action that was contrary to public international law.

The Swedish Dockworkers Union had previously decided to voice their support for the humanitarian project Ship to Gaza. An additional component of the blockade was a demand that the state of Israel lifts its illegal blockade of Gaza. The employers association Ports of Sweden responded to this notice by threatening to take action against union members taking part in the blockade without stating any objections to the notice itself or the action as such.

According to Ports of Sweden, participation in the blockade would violate the rules of obligation in individual employees’ contracts and financial compensation would be sought for any damage caused. The Swedish Dockworkers Union believes that a union notice protects individual members from such retaliation and that such action by the employer instead constitutes a violation of freedom of association. Furthermore, the approach of Ports of Sweden, contrary to their claim to be making an assessment purely based on labour laws and free of political values, constitutes in our opinion an extended statement of political position, at least in its consequences.

After evaluating the situation, the Swedish Dockworkers Union have decided to withdraw its original notice in order to put forward a reformulated notice, with a somewhat limited time frame. United Palestinian trade unions have directed a request for sympathy blockades against Israel to every port workers’ union in the world.

The Swedish Dockworkers Union’s action has, therefore, in addition to the reasons mentioned above, an underlying union purpose as the Israeli blockade of Gaza has led to unparalleled unemployment levels for the people of Gaza. The blockade will now take effect at midnight on Tuesday 22nd June and last until midnight on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. It will therefore coincide with the second week of the Norwegian port workers’ blockade of Israeli ships and cargo that comes into effect on June 15th and lasts for two weeks.

Additional information is available from:

Björn A.Borg, chairman of the Swedish Dockworkers Union +46 (0)70-680 95 48

Peter Annerback, member of the executive committee +46 (0)73-546 38 02

Rolf Axelsson, member of the executive committee +46 (0)70-950 89 09


Susana Busquets
Coordination Office
International Dockworkers Council (IDC)
Ph. +34 93 225 25 28
Fax. +34 93 221 65 88

coordination@idcdockworkers.org
www.idcdockworkers.org

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Crime writer Mankell held in Israel after aid boat attack: Sweden

By Agence France-Presse

STOCKHOLM — Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell, author of the Wallander detective series, is one of nine Swedes held in Israel Monday after landing from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla attacked by Israeli commandos, Sweden's foreign ministry said.

Mankell "has been detained ... In all, nine Swedes have been detained," ministry spokesman Anders Joerle told AFP, adding that they were not all being held at the same place and some had been imprisoned while others had simply been taken into custody.

"I think Henning Mankell is just being held in custody. I'm not sure. The Israelis have him in some kind of detention," he said.

Some of the Swedes had been very slightly injured, Joerle said, adding that some Swedes believed to have been travelling with the flotilla when it was attacked early Monday had yet to be reached.

The nine Swedes have reportedly been given the choice between accepting to be deported or to be tried in an Israeli court.

Earlier Monday evening, the foreign ministry countered a rumour set in motion at an anti-Israel demonstration in Oslo that Mankell had been shot in the attack, which left at least nine pro-Palestinian activists dead.

The 62-year-old author of the Wallander detective series joined the flotilla from Cyprus by way of smaller boats "after almost 48 hours of playing hide-and-seek with Cypriot police," Ship to Gaza Sweden said in a statement.

Mankell, whose books about world-weary detective Kurt Wallander have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and have been adapted to film and television, said he was taking part in the flotilla to show his solidarity towards the Palestinian people.

"I think that when one talks about solidarity, one must always know that actions are what proves destiny," he told Swedish public radio last Thursday.

"It is with actions that we prove we are ready to support something we believe is important," he said.

In addition to Mankell, Ship to Gaza Sweden said nine Swedes were in the flotilla when it was attacked, including controversial Swedish-Israeli artist Dror Feiler, a parliamentarian and several doctors and academics.

The ships, carrying more than 700 passengers, were on a mission to deliver some 10,000 tonnes of supplies to Gaza, which has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007.

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Israel Declares War on Sweden!

Joshua Holland

You understand the rules of the game, right? When a Scandinavian paper prints something offensive to the Muslim world and Islamic leaders condemn it, protest it, or ask for an apology it's simply more evidence that the "false religion" doesn't mix with democracy, and an occasion for fonts of outrage on the part of newly minted free speech enthusiasts on the right.

But don't hold your breath waiting for those voices to condemn the exact same behavior from The Only Democracy in the Middle East®.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel urged the Swedish government on Sunday to condemn an article in a Swedish newspaper last week accusing the Israeli Army of harvesting organs from Palestinians wounded or killed by soldiers.

As the furor in Israel over the article gathered into a diplomatic storm revolving around questions of anti-Semitism and freedom of speech, Mr. Netanyahu told ministers at a cabinet meeting on Sunday that the article, published in the Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet, was “outrageous” and compared it to a “blood libel,” referring to medieval anti-Semitic accusations that Jews ritually killed gentile children and collected their blood.

“We are not asking the government of Sweden for an apology,” Mr. Netanyahu said, according to an official who attended the cabinet meeting and who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We are asking for their condemnation.”

To be clear: it does seem from all accounts that the article was a truly shoddy piece of reporting, based on unconfirmed rumors dating back more than a decade (and as such the "Swedish libel" will be used to defend against other, legitimate charges of abuse on the part of the Israeli military).

But that's kind of beside the point -- the same allegations have been published several times without the kind of hand-wringing we're seeing now.What's interesting here is that the outrage in Israel -- they're boycotting Ikea, which I actually find kind of funny for some reason -- is being nurtured directly and apparently intentionally by ...

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s outspoken foreign minister, has led the protest, saying that the Swedish government’s silence was “reminiscent of Sweden’s position during World War II, when it also did not become involved.”

What's going on? Well, a little wag the dog ...

Lieberman is the subject of multiple corruption probes. In all likelihood, he'll have to resign in disgrace at some point soon, and may face jail time. But in the meantime, a nice, juicy foreign scandal -- a blood libel, no less! -- might just take some heat off of the controversial far-right minister.

And he's apparently not satisfied only going after Sweden:

Amid escalating tensions between Israel and Sweden, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Sunday accused another Scandinavian country - Norway this time - of promoting anti-Semitism.

On Sunday, Lieberman moved his criticism on to Norway for marking the birthday of an early 20th century "pro-Nazi" author.

"I was amazed at the Norwegian government's decision to celebrate the 150th birthday of Knut Hamsun, who admired the Nazis," Lieberman told students at the Ariel University Center.

Whatever.

Anyway, beyond the value this brouhaha has for Lieberman personally, there's also some poisoning of the well -- Sweden just took over the EU presidency, and is expected to take an activist position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. So we'll be hearing a lot about how Sweden's government is rife with anti-Semitism over the next five months.

And, as is very often the case, the Israeli government's view of the matter is totally at odds with that of Sweden's Jewish community, according to this report in Ha'aretz:

Lena Posner, president of the Official Council of Jewish Communities in Sweden, said Sunday that Israel's demand that Sweden officially condemn the article that accused Israel Defense Forces of harvesting Palestinian organs "had blown the issue completely out of proportion.

"No one even noticed the article - which is, incidentally, anti-Semitic and absolutely untruthful - when it was buried in the last pages of Aftonbladet," Posner explained. "But the Israeli response pushed the journalist who wrote it, Daniel Bostrom, to the front of the stage and into the heart of the Swedish mainstream."

"What's even worse is that by making the preposterous demand for a government condemnation, the debate has changed from anti-Semitism to freedom of speech in Sweden: Instead of concentrating on debunking the story, they have made it a freedom of speech issue. The government is not going to condemn the article - freedom of speech here is sacrosanct," added Posner, who said she could see how the Swedish mainstream media, which at first attacked the tabloid for printing the piece, were now supporting it, based on the principle of preserving the freedom of speech.

Joshua Holland is an editor and senior writer at AlterNet

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Swedish city cancels Holocaust event

A northern Swedish city has decided to cancel a planned Holocaust Memorial Day torchlight procession due to the recent IDF offensive in Gaza, it was reported Tuesday.

The official reason given for the decision, made by the municipal board and local church in Lulea, was safety concerns, but Bo Nordin, a clergyman and spokesman for the church, cited the war in Gaza.

"It feels uneasy to have a torchlight procession to remember the victims of the Holocaust at this time," Nordin told Swedish National Radio. "We have been preoccupied and grief-stricken by the war in Gaza and it would feel just feel odd with a large ceremony about the Holocaust."

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ISRAELI AMBASSADOR GETS THE SHOE IN SWEDEN!

Iqbal Tamimi

A shoe was thrown at Israel’s Ambassador to Sweden, Mr. Benny Dagan, when He was giving a speech at Stockholm University today. The shoe hit itstarget. It was followed by two books and a note pad, all hitting theseverely embarrassed ambassador.

The two protesters, a young woman and a young man, shouted “Murderers!”

And “Intifada!” while pelting Dagan with the objects. They are currently under arrest, suspected of assault and public disturbance.
The lecture was organized by the Foreign policy association at Stockholm University. The Ambassador was supposed to talk about the upcoming Elections in Israel, but turned quickly to issues of Hamas and Iran and Developed a lengthy defense for Israel’s recent actions in the Gaza Strip.

Some 20 minutes into the lecture, a woman stood up in the audience, threw a red shoe at the ambassador and shouted “Murderers!”. The shoe hit Dagan In his stomach. Another protester then joined in and hurled two books and a note pad.

Dagan was dumbstruck and paralyzed, but returned to his lecture shortly After a few minutes , only to face shouts and other verbal protests from

The audience. The meeting ended in chaos, while the two protestors were taken to custody.

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