When it emerged four years ago that Hamid Zafar had made anonymous anti-Semitic statements several years earlier, SVT acted quickly and cut him from the upcoming "På spåret" season – despite the programs already being recorded.
Now, Zafar notes that SVT is acting differently with Stina Wollter.
Racist structures
"Either SVT has changed its previous policy and decided to have a more forgiving policy towards anti-Semitic statements in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. Or it matters who makes these statements," writes Hamid Zafar in a debate article in Expressen and adds:
"Then SVT suffers from racist and Islamophobic structures that imply having a more permissive attitude towards anti-Semitic statements if a white woman from the cultural establishment expresses them. If, on the other hand, similar statements come from a Muslim racialized immigrant man, decisive measures are taken immediately."
Painting naked celebrities
Artist Wollter claimed in an Instagram post that Israel "systematically took organs and skin from dead Palestinians". She also claimed that Israel "killed its own at the festival" during the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.
Wollter has apologized for spreading false information, and on November 13, it's the premiere of "Naken med Stina Wollter" on SVT. In the program, the artist paints naked celebrities while interviewing them.
Hamid Zafar was named Swede of the Year by the magazine Fokus in 2018 and was widely known as a prolific school debater. After the scandal in 2020, Zafar was forced to leave his position as head of child and education in Mullsjö municipality.
