An editorial in The Jewish Daily Forward focuses on those who have been most affected by the Aftonbladet blood libel: Sweden's 15,000 to 18,000 Jews. It also exposes the pathetic nature of the plea of Sweden's government:
The Swedish government then tried to hide behind a fealty to freedom of the press, which only served to compound the problem. Newspapers ought to be free to publish what they want, but government officials - and anyone else - are free to criticize, especially when what is published is presented as fact, not opinion. This entire episode could have been avoided if Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt had only supported his own ambassador to Israel, who rightly called the story "shocking and appalling." Instead, the ministry disavowed her denunciation...
Sweden's people and its leaders ought to know better, the editorial concludes.
