NEW YORK – The World Jewish Congress unequivocally rebukes the planned burning of a Torah outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm which received approval from the local police.
“This provocative and hateful act has no place in civil society, and we join the Official Council of Swedish Jewish Communities in condemning it,” WJC President Ronald S. Lauder said. “The burning of our sacred texts ostracizes and hurts the Swedish Jewish community as well all those who value pluralism and multiculturalism. Books should be read and cherished, not set ablaze.”
After the recent burnings of the Quran in Sweden, the World Jewish Congress stood firmly with the Muslim community, saying the incidents both marginalized religious minorities and sowed division.