The police’s decision to grant a permit for a public gathering to a man who plans to burn a Torah and a Bible outside the Israeli embassy is drawing a lot of attention in Israel. Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says the burning is “an offense against all Jews”.
– As an Israeli and a Jew, I find it deeply disturbing that the Torah is burned. As a man of faith, I pray every day and use the verses of the Torah. This is an offense against all Jews, he says in an interview with TV4 Nyheterna.
The Torah and Bible burning is planned to take place outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on Saturday. Condemning voices have been raised both in Sweden and internationally regarding the police’s permission to grant the general assembly.
Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, Zic Nevo Kulman, writes in a post on social media that “it is clearly an expression of hatred that must be stopped”
“Not about freedom of expression”
Burning scriptures has nothing to do with freedom of speech, says Naftali Bennet.
– You shouldn’t burn holy scriptures of any religion, that’s not what freedom of speech is about. Free speech is about allowing different opinions and debates. This is not freedom of speech, it is a terrible act of deliberate hatred, he says.
When asked how the Israeli population reacted to the planned burning, he says:
– The Jewish people have existed for thousands of years. Based on the belief in our Torah, and burning it in a deliberate and outlandish way, is a profound offense to all Jews in the world.
Naftali Bennet also points out that the Israeli government is strongly critical of the Koran burnings that have taken place in Sweden in recent times.
Supports the Jewish community in Sweden
When it comes to whether the planned Torah burning could affect Sweden’s international relations, Naftali Bennet says that it is up to the current government to judge.
– I am not currently serving as Prime Minister of Israel, so it is for the current government to judge. But what I can say is that we here in Israel are strengthening the Jewish community in Sweden, he says.
– We want the Jewish community to know that Israel we stand behind them. We do not accept this, and I expect decent Swedes to fight against these horrible acts.