Swedish journalist Donald Bostrom was given a cold greeting in Dimona, where he attended the city's annual International Conference on Communications on Monday.
Bostrom, who has been severely criticized for an article he wrote in the Swedish daily Aftonbladet alleging that Israeli soldiers had stolen body parts from dead Palestinians during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, was greeted by a throng of protesters upon his entrance to the hall where the conference was held, and his keynote address was disrupted by catcalls from the audience.
During an interview with journalist and talk show host Yair Lapid, Bostrom defended his article, claiming everything he wrote was backed by evidence. He also said that he understood the anger Israelis felt towards him, but that he thought people had blown the article out of proportion. Bostrom told Lapid that he thought the allegations, passed on to him by Palestinian families, should be seriously investigated.
"If you had seen what I saw, you would have made the same claims I did. I promise you that the article contains no rumors or lies," said Bostrom.
Throughout the interview, Lapid challenged Bostrom on the article's veracity and pummeled him with hard-hitting questions, calling on him to provide the names of his sources or even a name of a single Palestinian whose organs were allegedly stolen. Bostrom refused to provide either.
When asked where he got the evidence to make such serious accusations against Israeli soldiers, Bostrom said the fact was that Palestinian families had made the claims, not that the claims themselves were true. Lapid in turn accused Bostrom of being led on by Hamas and becoming part of their propaganda campaign.
Lapid concluded the interview by thanking Bostrom for coming and expressing hope that next time he would be more careful when writing about Israel.
Bostrom has been facing angry Israelis since he first arrived in the country on Sunday morning, when he was met with protesters carrying signs calling for his expulsion and decrying him as an anti-Semite.
Due to fear that he would be harmed while in Israel, an armed bodyguard has been put in his service during his stay.
Bostrom isn't the only one to suffer from the public outcry raised by his visit. Dimona Mayor Meir Cohen was also booed during his opening address at the conference for his agreement to host the conference knowing Bostrom would be there.
Minister for Development of the Negev and the Galilee Silvan Shalom canceled his appearance at the Dimona conference to protest Bostrom's presence, which he called "a shameful event." He also withdrew his ministry's funding for Monday's conference.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center's director for international relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, warned Cohen that "his prestige and that of the conference are being abused to whitewash unambiguous anti-Semitism and will be the opportunity for further repetition of the libel in the world's media, while turning its author into a hero."
"The sponsors of this travesty are confusing freedom of expression with blood libel. Bostrom should have no platform in Israel," said Samuels, who appealed to the Dimona municipality "to, at least, invite a noted authority on anti-Semitism in Scandinavia, Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld - Chair of the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs - as respondent to Bostrom."
The Zionist organization Im Tirzu expressed harsh condemnation, saying: "We are certain that the conference organizers and the staff of the Dimona municipality do not identify with the Swedish anti-Semitic reporter's bizarre views, but the mayor's shameful insistence on holding the conference reveals an apparently lacking value system among the conference's organizers and attendees."
"The event organizers decided to sacrifice the values of morality, Zionism, democracy and the good name of Israeli soldiers on the altar of public relations and their own personal advancement, at a time when Israel is undergoing a severe anti-Semitic attack," read a press release published by the group.
In response, Mayor Cohen said, "Dimona is in favor of public debate and the right to argue."
