Apparently, throwing shoes is a mark of disrespect in Swedish culture.
A shoe was thrown at Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, Mr. Benny Dagan, when he was giving a speech at Stockholm University on Thursday . It was followed by two books and a note pad, all hitting the severely embarrassed ambassador.
The two protesters, a young woman and a young man, shouted “Murderers!” and “Intifada!” while pelting Dagan with the objects. They are currently under arrest and charged with assault and public disturbance.
The lecture was organized by the Foreign policy association at Stockholm University. The ambassador was supposed to talk about the upcoming elections in Israel, but turned quickly to issues of Hamas and Iran, and developed a lengthy defence for Israel ’s recent actions in the Gaza Strip. Some 20 minutes into the lecture, a woman stood up in the audience, threw a red shoe at the ambassador and shouted “Murderers!” The shoe hit Dagan in his stomach. Another protester then joined in and hurled two books and a note pad.
Dagan was dumbstruck and paralyzed, but returned to his lecture shortly after a few minutes – only to face shouts and other verbal protests from the audience. The meeting ended in chaos, while the two protestors were taken to custody.
The boycott movement in Sweden has gained momentum during the last weeks, not the least since Veolia lost its Stockholm metro contract, worth some 3.5 billion euro a year, after a long campaign against the company’s notorious involvement in the Jerusalem tram project. The movement is now taking aim at the Davis Cup tennis match between Sweden and Israel scheduled in Malmö from the 6th to the 8th of March 2009.
0 Responses to “A shoe, a book and a pen too”