In Stockholm, following an incident where an Iraqi immigrant burned a copy of the holy Quran, Stockholm police have granted authorization for a protest this weekend. The protest organizer plans to burn the Torah and the Bible outside the Israeli Embassy in response to the Quran-burning incident. Israeli officials have called on the Swedish government to intervene and prevent the protest from taking place.
Sweden has recently faced criticism from Muslim countries for permitting the burning of the Quran during small anti-Islam demonstrations. Stockholm police, in accordance with Sweden’s strong tradition of protecting the right to hold public demonstrations, approved the protest with the understanding that it would be a public meeting rather than a permit for different actions.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog expressed his condemnation of the burning of the Quran and expressed his distress that a similar fate awaits the Jewish Bible. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen urged Swedish officials to prevent the burning of the Torah scroll. Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef implored Sweden’s figurehead king to intervene, denouncing both the planned event and the recent Quran burning in front of a mosque.