"If a lie is repeated enough times, it becomes the truth." The quote is attributed to Joseph Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany, and clearly reflects the war that Hamas started against Israel last year. Because it is not only a ground war but, to the highest degree, an information war.
The Jewish Women's Group (JKG), with over 300 women with Jewish connections, was formed as a result of the antisemitic barrage that has swept the world since Hamas's barbaric massacre in Israel on October 7. We are appalled at how, despite all evidence to the contrary, Hamas is regarded as a reliable interlocutor and credible source of information when, in fact, they pose a threat to the entire democratic society.
Hamas is funded and supported by the totalitarian regime in Iran. Hamas and the Iranian regime share ideology and goals—to destroy Israel and Islamize the entire world. The same Iran has unjustifiably kept Swedes imprisoned as part of its hostage diplomacy, something Hamas also applies.
Earlier, the media reported on an Iranian terrorist cell with the aim of killing selected Swedish Jews. On May 30, Säpo announced that gang criminals have now been recruited by a foreign power to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Sweden.
Hamas' goal is not peace and freedom for Palestinians. Hamas despises the idea of the equal value of people, advocates corporal punishment for "sexual deviance", indoctrinates Palestinian children with Jew-hatred and Palestinians with "wrong" opinions are executed in an ongoing low-intensity terror against their own population.
Instead, Israel is demonized to the point of justifying Hamas' vision "from the river to the sea," which is exclusively about wiping out the state of Israel and all Jews.
Hamas's respect for the lives of civilian Gazans is made clear when Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar describes them as "necessary victims". We must not forget that Hamas can have peace today if they lay down their arms and release the hostages.
Not since the 1930s has an antisemitic movement so skillfully exploited the zeitgeist as Hamas, backed by Iran, does today. By portraying themselves as freedom fighters and sacrificing their own civilian population, Hamas succeeds in penetrating deeply into the contemporary mentality where today it is "right" to point responsibility for the war at Israel. A war started by Hamas.
Why does the pro-Palestinian movement not condemn Hamas? Why are women's and LGBTQ rights not desirable in Gaza? Instead, Israel is demonized to the point of justifying Hamas' vision "from the river to the sea," which is exclusively about wiping out the state of Israel and all Jews.
All who stand for peace, freedom, and human rights have an obligation to ensure that we do not contribute to Hamas and Iran's reign of terror. The pictures from Gaza are terrible. Every life lost is a tragedy. But we must remember that it is Hamas that sends out the images and sees the Palestinian suffering as "necessary victims" in the propaganda war. Hamas reports daily death tolls that are referenced without vetting or distinguishing between civilians and combatants.
The government has repeatedly urged us Swedes to be vigilant against misinformation. It is good! Our call to everyone, including our politicians, is that we too must be vigilant and debate the influence campaigns of Hamas and Iran.
Petra Kahn Nord, World Jewish Congress
Eva Serner, Judiska Kvinnogruppen
Sarah Singer, Jewish Women's Group
Mathilda Egerszegi Stenman, Jewish Women's Group
Vera Z Gutman, Jewish Women's Group
Ramona Reander Buckholt, Jewish Women's Group
Jessica Babb, Jewish Women's Group
This editorial was originally published in Swedish by Expressen.
