Sweden: Court decides that crossed out Star of David is not racism, it's an opinion on Israel

Via MIFF and Avpixlat:

This past August, two teenagers were charged after vandalizing the concert hall and art museum in Gothenburg.  The two had painted a crossed out Star of David, a swastika and various anti-Israel slogans such as "Boycott Israel" and "Free Gaza".

The prosecution charged the 16 year old with racism, but he was acquitted.

The youth, a Muslim whose family comes from the Middle East, said he didn't hate Jews, just the State of Israel, and that star represented it.

He also explained that he was stopped in the middle of painting the Swastika, and that he intended to add a " = Star of David" to it, and thereby compare Israel's actions to the Nazi atrocities during WWII.

The court therefore decided this wasn't racism, but rather expressing an opinion on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The youth also said that it was the other, younger, boy who painted the crossed out Star of David.