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The Aftonbladet–Israel controversy refers to the controversy that followed the publication of a 17 August 2009 article in the Swedish tabloid ''Aftonbladet'' alleging that Israeli troops harvested organs from Palestinians that died in their custody. The article sparked a fierce debate in Sweden and abroad, and created a rift between the Swedish and Israeli governments.〔("Article about organ harvesting sparks Israel-Sweden tiff" ) ''Los Angeles Times'' 24 August 2009〕〔(Paper's organ harvesting article causes Israel–Sweden rift ), CNN 17 August 2009〕 Israeli officials denounced the report at the time, labeling it anti-Semitic. The article was written by Swedish freelance〔 photojournalist Donald Boström, and was entitled ''"Våra söner plundras på sina organ"'' ("Our sons are being plundered for their organs"). It presented allegations that in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many young men from the West Bank and Gaza Strip had been seized by Israeli forces and their bodies returned to their families with organs missing. The Israeli government and several US congresspersons〔〔 condemned the article as baseless and incendiary, while noting the history of antisemitism and blood libels against Jews, and asked the Swedish government to denounce it. Stockholm refused, citing freedom of the press and the country's constitution. Swedish ambassador to Israel Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier condemned the article as "shocking and appalling", stating that freedom of the press carries responsibility, but the Swedish government distanced itself from her remarks.〔(Sweden: Not party to envoy's censure of IDF organ harvesting article ), Haaretz 20 August 2009〕 The Swedish Newspaper Publishers' Association and Reporters Without Borders supported Sweden's refusal to condemn it. The former warned of venturing onto a slope with government officials damning occurrences in Swedish media, something that may curb warranted debate and restrain freedom of expression through self-censorship. Italy made a stillborn attempt to defuse the diplomatic situation through a European resolution condemning antisemitism.〔 The Palestinian Authority announced it would establish a commission to investigate the article's claims.〔 A survey among the cultural editors of the other major Swedish newspapers found that all would have refused the article as it at that time was based on outmoded hearsay and rumors.〔(Israelartikel ratas av kulturchefer ), ''Svenska Dagbladet'' 26 August 2009〕 In December 2009, a 2000 interview with the chief pathologist at the L. Greenberg National Institute of Forensic Medicine Yehuda Hiss was released, in which he had admitted taking organs from the corpses of Israeli soldiers, Israeli citizens, Palestinians and foreign workers, without the families' permission. Israeli health officials confirmed Hiss' confession but stated that such incidents had ended in the 1990s and noted that Hiss had been removed from his post.〔(Israel harvested organs in '90s without permission ) Google News 20 December 2009.〕〔(Aftonbladet: Israel tog organ – utan tillstånd )〕 The Palestinian press claimed the report "appeared to confirm Palestinians' allegations that Israel returned their relatives' bodies with their chests sewn up, having harvested their organs".〔http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=248510〕 ==Aftonbladet article by Donald Boström == In August 2009 ''Aftonbladet'' ran an article by freelance writer Donald Boström in its culture section. The article opened by mentioning the arrests related to a suspected money laundering and organ trafficking operation involving rabbis, politicians, and civil servants in New Jersey and New York. Briefly introducing the problem of the illegal organ trade worldwide, Boström then related things he heard and saw during his stay in the Palestinian territories in 1992 during the First Intifada.〔Original article in Swedish: (Aftonbladet, August 17, 2009: ”Våra söner plundras på sina organ” ), (Aftonbladet: "Our sons are plundered of their organs". ) (third party translation: (Aftonbladet: "Our sons plundered for their organs". ))〕 A photograph accompanying the article depicted a cadaver with a line of stitches on the torso, identified as that of Bilal Ghanem, 19 years old when he was killed by IDF soldiers on 13 May 1992. The Ghanem family was not interviewed for his article, but Boström described his impressions of Ghanem's burial, which he attended: The next paragraph of the article quotes other Palestinian families, and reads as follows:
Boström also writes that unnamed UN staff members told him that "organ theft definitely occurred", but that they were "prevented from doing anything about it".〔 He also reports the response of the IDF spokesperson as being that the allegations of organ theft were lies, and that all Palestinian victims are subjected to autopsy on a routine basis. Boström notes that according to Palestinian statistics for 1992, Bilal Ghanem was one of 133 Palestinians killed, and one of 69 who went through postmortem examination. He concludes the article with his opinion that the questions surrounding what is happening remain unanswered and should be investigated.〔 Meanwhile, family members of Bilal Ghanem, the Palestinian at the center of the article's allegations, stated that they had never told Boström that Ghanem's organs had been removed. However, even though they never spoke to Boström and lacked any proof to confirm the allegations, they thought Bilal had been deprived of some organs.〔(Palestinians seek organ theft probe ) Al Jazeera 28 August 2009〕〔 In a follow-up editorial, ''Aftonbladet'' editor Jan Helin wrote that he approved the article for publication "because it raises a few questions", while acknowledging that the paper at that time had no evidence for its claims.〔(Swedish editor: I'm not a Nazi ), Ynet News 24 August 2009〕 In August 2009, Boström said he did not know whether the claims were true or not but that he wanted them investigated;〔(Israel Furious Over Swedish Newspaper Article ), Associated Press 19 August 2009 (reprinted in FOX News)〕 he made similar remarks again at a November conference in Israel.〔(Report: IDF organ harvesting reporter 'rethinking' story ), Haaretz 12-1—2009〕 ''Aftonbladet'' published an update noting the recent conviction of Yehuda Hiss, Chief Pathologist at Israel's Abu Kabir Institute, and two of his colleagues for improperly taking body tissue from a dead Israeli soldier in 2001. The paper acknowledged that the event did not prove the truth of the original allegations.〔(Swedish reporter repeats IDF organ theft allegations, this time in Israel )〕〔(Aftonbladet: Nu faller domarna i den israeliska organhärvan )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2009 Aftonbladet Israel controversy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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