Swedish state
television blocked the airing of a documentary linking jihad to
antisemitism, out of fear it would offend the country’s growing
Muslim population.
Sveriges Television (SVT) is coming under fire for refusing to
broadcast “Watching the Moon at Night,” due to “political
correctness.”
SVT was a major funder of the documentary, which takes an
in-depth look at the link between jihad and Jew-hatred, demonstrating the
extent to which Jews have been affected by terrorism. Mahrianne Ahrne — a
former film consultant at the Swedish Film Institute who initially approved
public funding for the documentary — told Berlingskethat
once the money was approved, SVT kept thwarting the
film’s production with “one formal obstacle after another.”
Bo Persson, the film’s director, revealed that SVT project manager Lars Säfström demanded
the movie be more anti-Israel and anti-American. “He tried to influence
the film’s content…For us it was totally unacceptable that he should interfere
with the content,” Persson said.
The Swedish broadcaster has
denied accusations that it is refusing to show the film for political
reasons.SVT’s head of documentaries, Axel Arnö, said the documentary did
not fit in with the channel’s journalistic standards, as it attempts to prove a
single point, rather than chronicle reality.
An online petition,
supported in part by the film’s
director, is already making the rounds. “In these fraught and dangerous times,
terrorism and antisemitism threaten the institutions of democracy everywhere.
Attempting to hide this reality and distorting the public debate is the worst
way to confront these threats when we should instead stand up for human rights
and European values,” the petition states.
