Q & AEurope

Don’t Expect a Thaw in Frosty Relations Between Sweden and Israel

Don’t Expect a Thaw in Frosty Relations Between Sweden and Israel
Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom speaks after a meeting, Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 25, 2016 (AP photo by Eranga Jayawardena).

Last month, Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom was denied an official visit to Israel, and Israeli officials refused to meet with her; a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said there were “scheduling problems." In an email interview, Per Jönsson, an associate editor at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, discusses Sweden’s ties with Israel.

WPR: What is behind the recent tensions between Sweden and Israel?

Per Jönsson: In October 2014, Sweden unilaterally recognized the state of Palestine, the first and only Western country to do so. In Israeli eyes, the move put Sweden in the category of anti-Zionist countries. Almost everything that has happened between Sweden and Israel since then has further hurt relations, not least of which when Wallstrom—correctly—described some of the Israeli shootings of Palestinian youth as “extrajudicial killings.” In January 2015 and last December, when she visited the Palestinian Authority, Wallstrom was not allowed to visit Israel in an official capacity. Israeli officials explicitly said that she was not welcome.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

BEGIN YOUR WPR SUBSCRIPTION NOW

More World Politics Review