Man Arrested After Spraying Red Liquid on Israeli Flag at Swedish Book Fair

A man was arrested on Saturday evening at a book fair in Gothenburg, Sweden, after pouring red liquid on an Israeli flag displayed at the booth of the Sweden-Israel Friendship Association. Video footage from the scene shows the man, with red-stained hands, shouting, "Israel is committing genocide. You must stop the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank." As security removed him, he continued, "This is a peaceful protest, and we are doing this for all the children being killed by Israel. Israel is an apartheid state, they are criminals."

Earlier in the day, a few protesters demonstrated outside the fair, holding a banner that read, "Death to the IDF." The incident occurred against the backdrop of reports that Egyptian poet Iman Mersal and Palestinian writer and journalist Bisan Owda withdrew from the fair in protest of the participation of former IDF spokesperson for foreign media, Jonathan Conricus.

Israel's Ambassador to Sweden, Tami Rahamimov Honig, expressed deep concern over the attack, stating, "This is not only an attempt to delegitimize Israel and its friends, but also an attack on freedom of expression and open discourse." She added that all attendees were safe.

Swedish news site SVT reported that Palestinian activist Taha Khatab filed a police complaint against the fair and the association, specifically citing Conricus's participation in a panel titled "Israel and the International System - Fighting Uphill." Khatab argued that inviting someone linked to the IDF was akin to inviting a Russian spokesperson to justify rocket attacks on Ukrainian civilians, and accused the fair of becoming an extension of Benjamin Netanyahu, dehumanizing Palestinians.

Fair director Oskar Ekström defended the event as an "open meeting place based on freedom of expression" that would inevitably evoke strong emotions. David Lega, chairman of the Sweden-Israel Friendship Association and former city council member, invited critics to engage directly, stating, "Come to our booth. Talk to us. Ask us, criticize our presentations and attack our arguments. But do not try to silence people because you do not like what they say." Lega explained Conricus's invitation was due to his experience as both an IDF international spokesperson and a UN official.