Donald Boström

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Donald Boström in 2015.

Carl Donald Boström (born 30 May 1954) is a Swedish journalist, photographer, and writer. He is known for his writings and photography relating to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He has also authored several cookbooks.

2009 article on organ trafficking[]

Main article: Aftonbladet–Israel controversy

On 17 August 2009 the tabloid Aftonbladet published an article by Boström, "Våra söner plundras på sina organ" ("Our sons are plundered of their organs"),[1] retelling rumors that Israel were stealing organs from Palestinians that died in custody.[2][3] Boström mentioned that the autopsies were performed at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute,[1] an institute whose chief pathologist, Yehuda Hiss, admitted to organ theft in 2005 from 125 bodies.[4] As a background Boström mentioned the charges against Levy Izhak Rosenbaum of Brooklyn, arrested as part of Operation Bid Rig for conspiring to arrange the sale of an Israeli citizen's kidney for $160,000. The article prompted outrage in Israel, with accusations that the claims were anti-Semitic and represented a Blood libel against Jews,[5][6] and set off a diplomatic row between the Israeli and Swedish governments.

The Swedish and Israeli media were highly critical of the article,[7][8] and a survey among the cultural editors of the other major Swedish newspapers found that all would have refused the article as it was based on outmoded hearsay and rumors.[9] Family members of Bilal Ghanem, the Palestinian at the center of the article's allegations, confirmed that Ghanem's organs had been removed after he was shot at the gate of his family's home and transferred by the military ambulance to a helicopter. Israeli forces returned the body to his family a week after in a state which his brother, Jalal Ghanem, describes as: "It was very clear that there was no abdomen, it showed from the way it was stitched. There were no teeth in his mouth".[10]

In his interview with the Arab news site , Boström is quoted as saying: "There is no conclusive evidence, only a collection of allegations and suspicious circumstances ... The point is that we know there is organ trafficking in Israel. And we also know that there are families claiming that their children's organs have been harvested. These two facts together point to the need for further investigation".[11] Reporting about a media conference in Dimona, where Donald Boström participated in order to defend his article "before a hostile audience",[12] Israeli newspaper Haaretz states that Boström admitted that he had no proof beyond the allegations of the families of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army.[12]

Financing[]

Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported that Bostrom's 2001 book Inshallah, which deals with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reportedly included the allegations of organ harvesting relating to the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, was financed – among other bodies – by the Swedish Foreign Ministry.[13]

Boström received the 2007 KW Gullers stipendium (scholarship) from the Nordic Museum in honor of the late Swedish photographer  [sv].[14]

Works[]

  • Nilsson, Bengt (1990). "Tårgas & oliver". Stockholm: Arbetarnas bildningsförbund. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) (photographer)
  • Johansson, Agneta (1993). Faces of Jerusalem : Ansikten i Jerusalem. Örebro: Libris. ISBN 91-7194-961-5. (photographer)
  • Boström, Donald; Boström, Lars (2001). Inshallah : konflikten mellan Israel och Palestina. Stockholm: Ordfront. ISBN 91-7324-860-6. (also photographer and editor)
  • Boström, Donald; Hasselbohm, Anders (2003). Mat för gudar : [libanesisk matkultur från Beirut Café]. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. ISBN 91-46-20341-9. (also photographer and editor)
  • Kronér, Lasse (2003). Boström, Donald (ed.). Åttio väldigt goda mackor. Stockholm: Wahlström & Widstrand. ISBN 91-46-20294-3.
  • Boström, Donald (2005). Snabb sund mat : enkla vardagsrecept med Kocklandslaget. Prisma: Stockholm. ISBN 91-518-4452-4. (also editor)
  • Albons, Birgitta (2005). Muren. Stockholm: Leopard. ISBN 91-7343-093-5. (photographer)
  • Boström, Donald, ed. (2007). Salam : om krig, fred och islam. Malmö: Arena. ISBN 978-91-7843-276-9.

References[]

  1. ^ a b Boström, Donald (17 August 2009). "Våra söner plundras på sina organ". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  2. ^ "Israel-Sweden row over media report" Al-Jazeera 24 August 2009
  3. ^ "Article about organ harvesting sparks Israel-Sweden tiff" Los Angeles Times 24 August 2009
  4. ^ Ezra HaLevi. Infamous Chief Pathologist to Once Again Evade Punishment, 09/26/05.
  5. ^ "Top Sweden newspaper says IDF kills Palestinians for their organs". Haaretz. 18 August 2009. Archived from the original on 25 August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  6. ^ "Swedish daily hits back at critics of IDF organ harvest story". Haaretz. 20 August 2009. Retrieved 26 August 2009.
  7. ^ Sweden's free speech tradition runs into Israeli ire by Igor Gedilaghine for Agence France Presse
  8. ^ BBC News, 24 August 2009: Israeli and Swedish on organ row
  9. ^ Israelartikel ratas av kulturchefer, SvD 26 August 2009
  10. ^ Palestinians seek organ theft probe Al-Jazeera 28 August 2009
  11. ^ "Israel claims Swedish press committing 'blood libel' over organ theft allegations" Menassat 21 August 2009
  12. ^ a b Izikovich, Gili (2 November 2009). "'I have no proof the IDF harvests Palestinians' organs'". Haaretz. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  13. ^ "'Those who don't condemn Swedish story may not be welcome'". Jerusalem Post. 23 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  14. ^ "Gullersstipendiat 2007: Donald Boström" (in Swedish). Nordic Museum. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
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