When I arrived in Sergels torg (Sergel’s Plaza) there was an ongoing
manifestation against the current regime of Iran. The manifestation was
dominated by exile Iranians and Iranian flags carrying the symbol of the Shah,
and members of the Worker-communist Party of Iran (WPI) who handed out
leaflets.
There were many Swedes who sold the Trotskyist newspaper Internationalen,
and different autonomous, anarchist and syndicalist groups in their
characteristic clothing. I recognized leading persons from Palestinagruppperna
(PGS) (Solidarity Movement for Palestine) and from ISM (International Solidarity
Movement) in Sweden. Both organizations had denounced the Al Quds Day
manifestation and urged all friends of Palestine not to take part on the grounds
that the speakers, namely Mohamed Omar and Lasse Wilhelmson, had made
“statements” that they were unable to support. They did not specify what those
“statements” where. There were also Jewish Zionists familiar to me (the Zionist
Jonathan Leman from eXpo (a Swedish anti-racist magazine) and SKMA (The Swedish
Committee Against Antisemitism (Swedish: Svenska Kommittén Mot Antisemitism) )
with his camera crew) who photographed the demonstrators for future
identification. The groups mentioned stayed behind in order to protest against
the ensuing Al Quds manifestation.
I arrived in Sergels torg on the “wrong” side, i.e. above the large and
wide stairs towards Åhlen’s. Before I could walk around to the other side, where
the speeches where to be made, a handful of young persons from ISM and possibly
from the Swedish AFA (Anti Fascist Action) spotted me. They of course know who I
am and what I look like. The biggest and most aggressive of them badmouthed me,
violently pushed me and wrestled me down on the street. The others helped to
squash the placards that I had brought with me. The placards said “Free
Palestine”, “Boycott Israel”, “Shut down Israel”, “Long Live Hezbollah and
Hamas”, “Warsaw and Gaza” (in a cross, in Swedish; ”Warszawa och Gaza”, with the
Z as the common letter), “Zionism” (crossed over), “No to USrael’s War Politics
– Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq, Somalia, the same occupation” and “Al Quds
Jerusalem Day”.
I called for help from bystanders and especially one middle-aged
Palestinian man resolutely and successfully interfered in my defense, but also a
younger person. A band of boys in their lower teens discovered what was said on
the placards, informed me that they where Palestinians, and that they wanted to
“beat up” the hoodlums and asked me who they where. But I managed to dissuade
this arguing that there were some really big guys there. They where, however,
rather touching and warmed my old heart.
Shora Ismail (Andreas Malm’s woman), who has for a long time been a leading
person within ISM in Sweden and who is of Iranian family background, afterwards
approached me when I was collecting the remains of my plackards. She said that
“[people] such as yourself should not be allowed here” (I recognize her very
well since many years and we have also previously worked together in the Boycott
Israel Network, and taken part in public debates). Then she walked over to the
person who had jumped on me – I know him from before, he was standing four
meters away – and gave him a hug and kisses on his cheek. Shora later took part
in the counterdemonstratio n.
I wasn’t hurt but I filed a police report on the assault and the infliction
of damage, on the prompting of a police officer who overheard me telling the
organizers what had happened to me. I did this because the organizers asked me
what had happened to my placards as they were broken. The officer explained that
this was important in principle since what had happened had political motives
and can be viewed as a hate crime, which is an aggravating circumstance.
The counterdemonstrator s threw eggs and fruit even at women and
children.
The counterdemonstrator s were about 500 – somewhat more numerous than us.
They had gathered in the wide stairs and on the “balcony” above the plaza, which
was physically sealed off by a long line of police vehicles and by plastic
ribbon fencing. They were chanting slogans against Islam and Arabs, so that it
was difficult to hear our speeches. They even threw eggs and fruit at women and
children, who were about half of the demonstrators.
The majority of the demonstrators where Muslim Arabs. Even so, the Al Quds
manifestation was conducted as planned. Palestinian youths led the speech
choirs.
I must confess that it was a rather strange experience to watch people from
the organization for Palestinian solidarity in Sweden, and from the ISM and
assorted leftists – who call themselves friends of the Palestinians –, together
with Marxist and royalist Iranians hostile to the Islamic Republic disturbing a
solemn manifestation for Palestine and booing when we chanted “Boycott Israel”
and “Free Palestine”. What happened here will surely have far-reaching
consequences for the anti-imperialistic work in Sweden, and especially for the
solidarity work for the Palestinians.
It is only on the Al Quds Day that anti-Zionist manifestations are arranged
in Sweden in support of Palestine, and so it is since several decades. On all
other prior occasions the Zionist organization Jews for Israeli-Palestinian
Peace Sweden (JIPF) has been allowed to control the main slogans which therefore
never have included the most basic demand of the Palestinians evicted in Al
Nakba, namely their inalienable right to return — which the UN made a condition
of its decision to grant Israel membership in 1948.
PS1 I wish to express my sincere gratitude to those people who assisted me
when I was attacked and I feel great happiness and honour to have been allowed
to be one of the two main speakers at the Al Quds Day manifestation in Stockholm
in 2009. I will never forget the tears flowing down the old Palestinian man’s
face when he embraced me and thanked me for my speech. He told me how he had
personally experienced al-Nakba 1948.