Herzog Meets With Swedish FM, Thanks Sweden for Fighting Anti-Semitism

YERUSHALAYIM

President Yitzchak Herzog held a diplomatic working meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Ann Linde on Monday.

President Herzog thanked Foreign Minister Ann Linde for Sweden’s hosting of the Malmö International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Anti-Semitism last week and stressed the need for international unity in combating anti-Semitism in all its forms wherever it appears.

Herzog welcomed the strengthening of ties between Israel and Sweden, as expressed in contacts between the two states’ foreign ministers.

Herzog emphasized the importance of the indisputable fact of Israel’s unique status in the family of nations as the state of the Jewish People, which maintains equality between all its citizens and is a liberal democracy.

Herzog highlighted recent normalization accords with Arab states as positive developments toward peace in the Middle East and encouraged Sweden to actively support efforts for peace and normalization with more states in the region.

Linde also plans to visit the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center and participate in an exhibition hosted by the Swedish Embassy in Israel marking 70 years of diplomatic relations.

On the second day of her visit, Linde is scheduled to visit Ramallah. The Swedish government has yet to release details on her planned visit to the Palestinian Authority.

This revival of diplomatic ties comes after years of a fragile relationship, which was sparked following then-Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom accusing Israel of “extrajudicial killings” of Palestinians.

Israel responded by recalling its ambassador from Stockholm and cutting communications between the countries on the ministerial level, reviving them only earlier this year.

But overtures are apparent between the states, as Sweden in recent years has spoken in favor of convening the EU-Israel Association Council and supporting Israeli candidacy to U.N. bodies.

 

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