NEW YORK – World Jewish Congress CEO and Executive Vice President Robert Singer has called the Swedish court of appeals’ decision not to deport a Palestinian migrant who was convicted of hurling firebombs at the synagogue in Gothenburg “an offensive moral outrage that sets a dangerous precedent for rewarding terrorist violence, antisemitism, 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, antisemitism, 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.