Controversy
The Swedish Association of Christian Social Democrats has received criticism for its cooperation with various alleged islamist and antizionist groups and people. In November 2005 the organization together with the Social Democratic Students of Sweden and the Muslim Council of Sweden invited the Palestinian-British academic Azzam Tamimi to hold a speech at a seminar at the Stockholm Mosque entitled Islam and Democratic Development (Swedish: Islam och demokratiutveckling). Tamimi has referred to Israel as a "cancer" and expressed support for the violent struggle of Hamas and Hizbollah against Israel.
In March 2007 the Swedish Association of Christan Social Democrats together with the workers' educational association ABF and the journal Folket i Bild/Kulturfront invited the Israeli-born activist and musician Gilad Atzmon to hold a speech at a seminar in Stockholm entitled Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan: same occupation? (Swedish: Irak, Palestina och Afghanistan: Samma ockupation?). The invitation led to strong criticism from the chairman of the Swedish Committee Against Antisemitism (SKMA), who called Atzmon a "notorious anti-Semite". In a reply, Ulf Carmesund of the Swedish Association of Christan Social Democrats countered that SKMA is on a dangerous path, devaluing the whole concept of antisemitism, when they attempt to apply the term to persons such as Atzmon. Gilad Atzmon belongs to the group of Jews that distance themselves from Israels policies, Carmesund explained. Atzom is critical of Israels policies and of organizations that spuriously support Israel in the name of all Jews.
In the summer of 2006, the priest Tommy Sandberg decided to leave the organization. According to the newspaper Dagen, one of the main reasons was that the organization "looks between the fingers on antisemitic occurrences" (Swedish: ”ser mellan fingrarna på antisemitiska företeelser”.).
Read more about this topic: Swedish Association Of Christian Social Democrats
Famous quotes containing the word controversy:
“And therefore, as when there is a controversy in an account, the parties must by their own accord, set up for right Reason, the Reason of some Arbitrator, or Judge, to whose sentence, they will both stand, or their controversy must either come to blows, or be undecided, for want of a right Reason constituted by Nature; so is it also in all debates of what kind soever.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)
“Ours was a highly activist administration, with a lot of controversy involved ... but I’m not sure that it would be inconsistent with my own political nature to do it differently if I had it to do all over again.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)