Sweden Recognizes a Palestinian State

Sweden Recognizes a Palestinian State

Sweden recognizes Palestinian StateFransson is a Swedish name and I’m proud of my Swedish Heritage.   I lived and went to school in Sweden as a child, and for years carried a Swedish Passport.  My love for the country and its people is great.  I’ve argued for decades about the superiority of Sweden’s “Middle Way”, in which they found fertile soil in the middle ground between polarized opposites.  Perhaps they are searching for their own true North, in announcing their recognition of a “Palestinian State”.  This time they’re leading in the wrong direction.

I am an ardent advocate for peace, but peace cannot come through double standards and false equivalencies.  I cannot imagine a clearer example of the dangerously confused double standard being applied in this case than Prime Minister Stefan Löfven’s statement about the decision: “The conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution, negotiated in accordance with international law. A two-state solution requires mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence. Sweden will therefore recognize the state of Palestine.”

If peace depends on mutual recognition and a will to peaceful co-existence, Sweden must first demand this from any Palestinian entity prior to recognizing them.  How could Löfven possibly miss the the tragically ironic error in his own pronouncement?  Wrong Way on PalestineSee my recent blog about handling the truth for a perspective on how we blind ourselves to the obvious.  Perhaps the source of Löfven’s “Truth Handling” is confidence in Sweden’s 20th century role as alluded to in my opening paragraph – Sweden’s history of leading by living the role of pragmatic intermediary.

Regardless of intent, I believe the acceptance of, and open practice of double standards and false equivalencies on the International stage is destined to make matters worse, leading to more, not less, war and bloodshed.  Swedes don’t like to think of themselves this way, but sometimes the truth hurts.

What do you think?

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Trackbacks

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  2. […] feel that a certain minimal standard of cooperation needs to be applied to both parties, rather than the path taken by my heritage-nation, Sweden for there to be more cooperation by the […]

  3. […] been almost six months since Sweden’s decision to recognize a Palestinian State. My blog on that topic highlighted the double standard being employed to bolster that decision. I stated “Regardless […]

  4. […] activism in Middle East politics is clearly wrongheaded and hypocritical and her decision to support Islamic countries in opposition to Israel has removed all doubt that […]

  5. […] a Palestinian State and to treat them this way at the United Nations. This is why I earlier called Sweden’s “recognition” of a Palestinian State out as completely hypocritical. By allowing such a move and even worse, supporting it, one begins to […]

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