Stockholm
\nA Swedish national radio broadcaster reported on Friday that the protest, which involves the burning of Torahs \u2014 the holy book of Jews \u2014 and Bibles \u2014 the holy book of Christians \u2014 outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, has received approval from the government of Sweden.
\nAccording to Sveriges Radio, a request to hold a public gathering to burn the holy books on Saturday has been approved.
\nIn a press release on Friday, the European Jewish Congress (EJC) expressed its \u201cstrong\u201d condemnation of the Swedish government\u2019s choice.
\n\u201cProvocative, racist, antisemitic, and sickening acts such as these have no place in any civilised society,\u201d EJC president Ariel Muzicant said in the statement.
\n\u201cStamping on the deepest religious and cultural sensibilities of people is the clearest expression possible to send a message that minorities are unwelcome and unrespected,\u201d Muzicant added.
\n\u201cThese actions, based on contorted and specious free speech arguments, are a disgrace to Sweden, and any democratic government worthy of the name should prevent it.\u201d
\nIsraeli President Isaac Herzog also condemned the Swedish authorities\u2019 decision in a tweet, saying: \u201cI unequivocally condemn the permission granted in Sweden to burn holy books. As the President of Israel, I condemned the burning of the Quran, sacred to Muslims world over, and I am now heartbroken that the same fate awaits a Jewish Bible, the eternal book of the Jewish people,\u201d
\nPreviously, a man desecrated a copy of the Holy Quran outside a mosque in the Swedish capital at the end of June, setting off tense demonstrations at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad.
\nAccording to Swedish police at the time, the choice to allow the protest was made in accordance with the right to free speech.
\nAccording to a police permit that CNN was able to obtain last month, the \u201csecurity risks and consequences connected with a Quran burning are not of such a nature that, according to current law, they can be the basis for a decision to reject an application for a general meeting.\u201d
\nQuran burnings \u201cmean an increased risk of a terrorist attack\u201d and \u201ccan also have foreign policy consequences,\u201d according to the permit for the June demonstration.
\nIt was clarified, though, that \u201csecurity problems must have a clear connection to the planned gathering or its immediate surroundings in order to be the basis for a decision to refuse a general assembly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Stockholm A Swedish national radio broadcaster reported on Friday that the protest, which involves the burning of Torahs \u2014 the holy book of Jews \u2014 and Bibles \u2014 the holy book of Christians \u2014 outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, has received approval from the government of Sweden. According to Sveriges Radio, a request to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":343351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-343338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n