All too often, nations lack the moral courage to go it alone on the world stage. But thankfully, Sweden has shown that it is a progressive nation, capable of independent thought and action, free from the tentacles of power that extend from the White House and the State Department in Washington. Long has the Nordic nation espoused a policy of neutrality, prepared to act alone and thumb its nose to those who do not share its political ideologies and philosophies.

Last week, the new centre-left government in power in Sweden decided it would recognise the state of Palestine — and quite rightly so. The Palestinian people may live under the toke of oppression and illegal occupation, but they are as much a nation with a long and proud history as any other recognised as an equal by the United Nations General Assembly,

And with as much repudiation as those in power in Israel can muster, it has issued a stern diplomatic rebuke to Sweden for — shock and horror — recognising the very nation and people that Israel has tried for decades to crush, kill, jail and oppress.

The government and people of Sweden deserve full praise for their recognition of Palestine: They should consider the diplomatic rebuke from Israel to be not worth the paper it is written on.

Now that Sweden has led the way, other nations should follow suit. And the potential rebukes from Israel? Noise, like an out-of-tune radio.