Lithuanian Jewish Community chairwoman and attorney Faina Kukliansky highly condemns a decision by the Swedish courts to allow the burning of the Torah in front of the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. Police stood by earlier as the Bible was burned publicly, and before that the Koran wrapped in pork in front of a mosque.

“The burning of any book, but especially sacred texts, is an act of barbarity which cannot be excused as freedom of speech. Democracy also has certain red lines and in this case they were transgressed. History shows book-burning result in pogroms and mass murder. Unfortunately not everyone remembers these painful lessons, so it is our duty to remind them,” chairwoman Kukliansky said.

The European Jewish Congress also condemned the Swedish legal system’s decision to allow extremists to burn holy books. EJC president Ariel Muzicant said in an official statement: “These kinds of provocative, racist, anti-Semitic and sick actions have no placed in civilized society. Insulting people’s deep religious and cultural feelings is the clearest indicator which could be sent that minorities are not wanted and not respected. These actions are Sweden’s shame and any democratic country should put a stop to this.”

President Muzicant said all peoples who haven’t lost their consciences and elementary decency should come together and condemns “these horrific acts.”

“What starts out as hate-speech and the destructions of books always ends in the violation of basic human rights. That’s how it was during the darkest days of European history and that’s how it is now,” he added.