Buried Skunk, Page 3
Doctor Admits Israeli Pathologists Harvested Organs Without Consent
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•by Ian Black, Middle East editor
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•The Guardian, Monday 21 December 2009
Israel has admitted pathologists harvested organs from dead Palestinians, and others, without the consent of their families – a practice it said ended in the 1990s – it emerged at the weekend.
The admission, by the former head of the country's forensic institute, followed a furious row prompted by a Swedish newspaper reporting that Israel was killing Palestinians in order to use their organs – a charge that Israel denied and called "antisemitic".
The revelation, in a television documentary, is likely to generate anger in the Arab and Muslim world and reinforce sinister stereotypes of Israel and its attitude to Palestinians. Iran's state-run Press TV tonight reported the story, illustrated with photographs of dead or badly injured Palestinians.
Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli Arab MP, said the report incriminated the Israeli army.
The story emerged in an interview with Dr Yehuda Hiss, former head of the Abu Kabir forensic institute near Tel Aviv. The interview was conducted in 2000 by an American academic who released it because of the row between Israel and Sweden over a report in the Stockholm newspaper Aftonbladet.
Channel 2 TV reported that in the 1990s, specialists at Abu Kabir harvested skin, corneas, heart valves and bones from the bodies of Israeli soldiers, Israeli citizens, Palestinians and foreign workers, often without permission from relatives.
The Israeli military confirmed to the programme that the practice took place, but added: "This activity ended a decade ago and does not happen any longer." continued
Israel Curbs
Swedish
Media Over
"Blood Libel"
JERUSALEM Sun Aug 23, 2009 (Reuters)
Israel placed curbs on Swedish journalists on Sunday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Sweden's government to condemn a newspaper article that Israeli officials say recalled historic hatred of Jews in Europe.
Israel's foreign minister compared it to the Dreyfus Affair -- the trial of a Jewish officer in the French army a century ago, which drew attention to anti-Semitism across the continent and inspired Zionists to promote Jewish emigration to Palestine.
Sweden has said press freedom means it cannot intervene in a dispute over the tabloid Aftonbladet's reprinting last Monday of long-standing Palestinian allegations that the Israeli army may have taken organs for transplants from men who died in custody.
"The statements in the Swedish press were outrageous," Netanyahu was quoted telling his cabinet, in his first comment on the issue. "We are not expecting an apology from the Swedish government...We are expecting condemnation."
The official quoting him said the premier, who will be in Europe this week visiting London and Berlin, echoed colleagues in comparing the article to medieval "blood libels," which alleged Jews used the blood of Christian babies in religious rites.
A spokesman for Israel's Interior Ministry said it was "freezing" the issue of entry visas to Swedish journalists, though those already working in the country would not be affected for now. The Government Press Office said it would take more time to review applications for accreditation from Swedes. continued
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