Row over plan to deport shul Óh[XecX[h
Svenska (also below left) after last December’s attack a hate crime” and encouraged others to commit similar crimes because the ruling suggests it may improve one’s chances of staying in Sweden.
They added that the court ruling sent a signal to Jews in Sweden that they are now less safe in the country.
The Palestinian man had been due to be deported in 2016 after his asylum application was rejected by Migrationsverket, but was granted a temporary, one-year residence permit after the agency ruled it was not possible to expel individuals to Gaza since the border with Egypt was often closed.
He took part in the synagogue attack before this permit expired and has been in custody ever since. Deportation was scheduled to follow at the end of his jail term, but the appeal-court ruling on September 12 reversed that decision.
It said the unstable situation in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as Israel’s “potential interest in the case”, were reasons to suspect the man’s basic human rights could not be guaranteed were he to be expelled — even though, the court said, the attack was “a serious political crime directed at other Jews” and not just at those in direct danger during the firebombing.
While the Migrationsverket believes the Palestinian offender can and should be deported, the court’s ruling has still not been revoked.
Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, Ilan Ben-Dov has accused the court of “blatant ignorance regarding Israel’s independent judiciary that has gained [an] international reputation. It also excuses and… legitimises the actions of a violent antisemite as acceptable political criticism by stating that his hostility is not towards Jews in general but due to his vengeful attitude towards Israel.”