Malmö city officials removed pro-Palestinian graffiti, and later issued an apology to anti-Israeli activists for its removal. This incident comes ahead of the Eurovision song contest's semifinals, set to take place in Malmö on Tuesday and Thursday, featuring Israel's Eden Golan, among other contestants.
Erasing the 'Free Palestine' Graffiti
The graffiti included a Star of David with the words "KicK OUT," a Palestinian flag and the slogan "Free Palestine." City workers dispatched to the scene erased the "Free Palestine" wording but left the provocative message on the Star of David intact.
The removal sparked protests from pro-Palestinian activists in Malmö city center. By Tuesday morning, the city council had released a formal statement apologizing for the deletion of the anti-Israel message.
"Due to inappropriate behavior and a communication error, the graffiti wall in Folkets Park was cleaned on Monday evening. This was a very regrettable mistake, Malmö condemns any infringement on freedom of expression," stated the official Facebook page of the municipality. Additionally, the city noted that the graffiti removal solution did not work properly, and that the council had engaged a cleaning company to prepare the wall for a new round of graffiti.
The municipality stressed the importance of free expression. "It's important that citizens in Sweden, and in other countries, express their opinions in various ways," it said in a statement. They added that the graffiti wall in Folkets Park is a designated area where graffiti is permitted.
"Messages are only removed in exceptional cases here, if an assessment is made that the content might be against the law, for example, if the message could be against a group of people," according to the statement.