Swedish Court Decision Not to Deport Palestinian Firebomber Slammed as Terror-Rewarding ‘Moral Outrage’

“This is an offensive moral outrage that sets a dangerous precedent for rewarding terrorist violence, anti-Semitism, and criminal behavior,” said WJC CEO Singer.

By: United with Israel Staff

The World Jewish Congress (WJC) slammed a Swedish court for canceling the deportation of a Palestinian who firebombed a synagogue in Gothenburg because the it claimed the anti-Semitic nature of the attack could put the terrorist in danger from Israel.

The Palestinian, who attacked the synagogue with another Palestinian and a Syrian last year after the US recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, was to be deported to the Palestinian Authority (PA) after serving time for the attack, but the deportation order was overturned on appeal since the perpetrator “could be perceived as a threat to other Jews,” and thus Israel “might be interested in the matter,” the SVT broadcaster reported Wednesday.

In the decision, the judge said that Sweden “cannot safeguard the man’s fundamental human rights if he is deported to Palestine.”

CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer called the Swedish court of appeals’ decision “an offensive moral outrage that sets a dangerous precedent for rewarding terrorist violence, anti-Semitism, and criminal behavior.”

“Sweden already denied asylum to this man, as he did not have sufficient grounds for the claim that his human rights were threatened in the Palestinian Authority or at the border crossings with Israel. Now, the court of appeals is concerned that this criminal’s fundamental human rights might be violated by retaliation from the side of Israel, and uses this as a justification for him to remain in Sweden, where he obviously constitutes a direct threat to the Swedish Jews,” Singer said.

“The court of appeals in Gothenburg has effectively chosen to give a free pass to the perpetrator of a violent anti-Semitic attack by granting him the right to stay in Sweden, which was earlier rejected,” Singer said. “This is an offensive moral outrage that sets a dangerous precedent for rewarding terrorist violence, anti-Semitism, and criminal behavior.”

“We stand with our affiliated community in Sweden in urging the State Prosecutor to examine whether these questionable grounds for withdrawing the deportation stand up to scrutiny, and for this ill-conceived and misguided decision to be immediately reconsidered,” Singer added.

The Jewish community in Gothenburg on Wednesday sent a letter to the prosecutor in this case, objecting to the court of appeal’s decision.