The European Palestinians Conference, held in Malmö, Sweden on May 27, had clear and strong connections with Hamas....
When the Swedish media wrote about the connection between the European Palestinians Conference and Hamas, however, MPs, one by one, began withdrawing from the conference -- although, notably, without distancing themselves from Hamas.
As Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization within the European Union and therefore also within Sweden, it would of course be embarrassing for these gentlemen to admit that they were prepared to participate in a conference with connections to Hamas, and that they only refrained because of negative media attention.
The MP who did not withdraw... was Social Democratic Party MP Jamal El-Haj, who represents Malmö in parliament. El-Haj, who has Palestinian roots, has sat in parliament since 2016, and has a history of repulsive statements and activism concerning the Israel-Palestine issue.
El-Haj, who has Palestinian roots, has sat in Sweden's parliament since 2016, and has a history of repulsive statements and activism concerning the Israel-Palestine issue. In 2018, El-Haj said in an interview, totally incorrectly, that Israel is an apartheid state that engages in ethnic cleansing. Despite this statement, the Social Democrats placed him on the parliament's foreign affairs committee....
El-Haj has not made the situation easier for his party after this scandal. He actually defended his participation. In a social media post, he wrote: "This conference is about my mother's right to return to her home in Palestine. There is nothing in the world that can make me give up such a dream".
What was left out, of course, is that the Arabs who stayed in Israel in 1948, and now number nearly two million, are still in their homes, with Israeli citizenship and equal rights. What took place was that five Arab armies attacked Israel on the day of its birth — and lost.
The Arabs who fled during the conflict were perceived by the people in Israel who had not fled as disloyal fifth columnists, who had declined to stay and protect the country alongside them. Therefore, after the war, those Arabs were not allowed back. These are now known as Palestinians.
Even after El-Haj's participation in the Hamas conference, he has been allowed to remain on the foreign affairs committee, which shows just how high the Social Democrats' tolerance level for extremists is.
The Social Democrats' close relationship with Islamists has long been criticized in Sweden. There has been justification for the criticism. An agreement between the Social Democrats and Sweden's Muslim Council, written in 1999 but only revealed in 2014, showed that the Social Democrats had promised the council that Muslims would have greater influence in politics through more seats at local, regional and national levels.
This dependency, which the Social Democrats have cultivated from the Arab and Muslim population, has been eroding general confidence in the party. If the Social Democrats prioritize their patron-client relationship with Arabs and Muslims at all costs, then in the eyes of the non-Arab public, the Social Democrats become a party for Arabs and Muslims.... Many in Sweden believe that the party is prepared to do anything for power.
Considering the problems Malmö has with anti-Semitism... it is remarkable that the Social Democrats tolerate one of their most prominent representatives from Malmö taking part in a conference with connections to Hamas. It clearly shows that the Social Democrats are prepared to sacrifice the Jewish minority in Sweden to maintain their patron-client relationship with Arabs and Muslims.
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Nima Gholam Ali Pour is a Member of the Swedish Parliament.
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