"This is a country which does not admit journalists and which lies at the bottom of the index for press freedom together with North Korea and Myanmar. It is a completely sealed off, totalitarian dictatorship with some of the largest human rights violations in the world. StatoilHydro is, in other words, entering into a country which is far worse than countries they have been operating in previously. Among the countries in which the company is investing heavily are Nigeria, Angola and Azerbaijan. Sætre describes Turkmenistan as a suppressed nation."
Surely, this self-serving, cynical and ruthless business behaviour qualifies as fairness by Norwegian standards of morality, as this example of how Norwegian state-owned petroleum company StatoilHydro does business in less than democratic oil rich countries shows.
Source: article in Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
Norwegian left-of-centre parties are quick to criticize Israel, pointing out that with privilege (the oil/pension fund) comes ethical responsibility. The ethical thing to do, the anti-Israel lobby argues, is do desinvest from Israel. And incidentally, invest heavily in Turkmenistan.
Unauthorized translation from the communist daily Klassekampen (Class struggle) by journalists Yohan Shanmugaratnam and Eline Lønnå.
Sets up shop in dictatorship
Gas: There is little reason to believe that StatoilHydro can change the rules of the undemocratic countries they want to enter into, such as Turkmenistan, says Simen Sætre, who is publishing a book.
The Norwegian "oil adventure" is becoming increasingly international. StatoilHydro is aggressively pursuing a favourable position in "new countries" which are being opened for foreign investors, among others in the closed of and authoritarian central Asian country Turkmenistan.
- Turkmenistan is attractive for StatoilHydro. The country is being opened up and StatoilHydro, which needs something new to do after having been in neighbouring Azerbaijan for a long time, is working to establish an office there. That means they want in, says Simen Sætre, journalist in Morgenbladet and author of the new book "Petromania" to Klassekampen.
In the book he depicts a voyage through the oil-rich nations of the world, in the middle of an oil price boom, in what he came to define as "Petromania": "a condition of euphoria / megalomania / un-inhibition accompanied by an unconscious change of personality / mentality / thought patterns as well as loss of overview / self-perception / judgment as a consequence of extraordinary hydrocarbon income, connected to booming petro-States.
Sætre attempts to find the answer to the question of what oil and gas does for us Norwegians, but also what it does to the countries in possession of this natural resource which many believe geo-politics revolves around. He tells a personal story of what the situation is like in the countries where our state-owned petroleum company are entering in order to engage in business operations.
Totalitarian
- Gas deposits stand for Turkmenistan's largest source of income and, according to the International Energy Bureau, the country is the world’s tenth largest producer and sixth largest exporter.
Simen Sætre tried in all possible manners to enter the country which is the object of desire for StatoilHydro. Finally he slipped into the country as a tourist, and travelled around the nation for two weeks in order to observe the conditions.
- This is a country which does not admit journalists and which lies at the bottom of the index for press freedom together with North Korea and Myanmar. It is a completely sealed off, totalitarian dictatorship with some of the largest human rights violations in the world. StatoilHydro is, in other words, entering into a country which is far worse than countries they have been operating in previously. Among the countries in which the company is investing heavily are Nigeria, Angola and Azerbaijan. Sætre describes Turkmenistan as a suppressed nation.
- The large income from oil and gas is controlled by one person, who has spent the money on magnificent constructions and a city made of marble. No resistance, counter-arguments or free media are allowed. If StatoilHydro enters, they will be in the pocket of the leaders of the nation, he believes.
In his book Sætre points to how oil states also statistically are less democratic than others, and provides three reasons. Oil money provides larger financial room to shape the lives of the inhabitants, and state money dominates most sectors. Furthermore one requires less income from other sources, and low taxation may lead to fewer demands for representation and responsibility – central pillars of democracy. Finally it is also about the absence of a civilian society which is independent of state, trade unions and other checks and balances.
Oil plattform made of gold
During his visit to Turkmenistan, Sætre came across, among others, a gift from a Malaysian oil company to the deceased president-for-life Saparmurat Nijazov, known as Turkmenbashi ("Father of all Turkmenis"): A miniature oil platform, made of gold.
Sætre also shows to how foreign companies which desire contracts in Turkmenistan have had to translate Turkmenbashi’s book "Ruhnama" ("Book of souls") to their respective languages.
- It must be embarrassing for StatoilHydro to see what other competing companies are doing in order to gain entrance into Turkmenistan, says Sætre. Based on studies of the oil-nation Angola, Sætre has also promoted a theory on what role a Norwegian oil company can play in what is diplomatically termed "challenging countries".
According to what he calls "The heart of Darkness" theory about oil companies, it is a myth that a Norwegian company can introduce new methods and more openness in such host countries, as StatoilHydro and many Norwegians claim. Thereby it is made to appear as if the company has an ethical reason to enter into these countries, in addition to the pure business aspects. This is a myth which is built and cultivated by StatoilHydro's PR-machinery. If it holds true then one ought to get as many Norwegian oil companies into Myanmar at once, so we can get things sorted out.
After having studied Angola’s oil sector I have realized that it is Angola itself which sets the parameters. The foreign oil companies stand in line for the available contracts, and in order to get them, the companies need to play by Angola’s rules, says Sætre, who believes the analysis may be transferred to Turkmenistan.
He ties "The heart of Darkness" theory to the controversial "debate on being good" where Norway attempts to appear as a humanitarian superpower – materialized by how StatoilHydro, with its "social democratic luggage" virtually has a moral commitment to become more international.
Government follows
- There is a battle over oil-and gas resources here, and there is little left which is not already allocated. Turkmenistand is in a position where they can set Russia, China and to a certain extent the USA and the West up against one other, he points out.
– How does the Norwegian government view StatoilHydro’s ambitions in Turkmenistan?
– I can’t see that they have this on their agenda. I have been in touch with a former deputy minister who travelled there, after what I understand virtually at StatoilHydro’s bequest, in order to meet important figures of the state and to open doors for StatoilHydro. Instead of taking a critical stance here, Norway, by means of the Foreign Department and the Oil and Energy Ministry, is actively opening Turkmenistan for StatoilHydro. The opening of a large embassy in Kazakhstan is probably part of this strategy, Sætre believes.
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Sunday, 30 August 2009
WWII: Norway received 37 Jewish children
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
From the paper edition of Norway’s largest daily Verdens Gang (VG). Notice how the Ministry of Justice Section Chief feared that taking in more children would encourage anti-Semitism. Oddly reminiscent of Dagsavisen’s Mr. Iversen, who the other day warned that Israeli reaction to Daniel Boström’s blood-libel story was rabid and might encourage anti-Semitism. Mr. Iversen even had the audacity to remind that Israel needs friends in Europe now more than ever, and should be careful not to push them away.
Oh Norway, beloved Norway, we deserve better than this.
"Few children to Norway
BERGEN (VG) Just before WWII broke out England generously received 10 000 Jewish children who were sent to safety by nervous parents in Germany and neighbouring countries.
Norway received only 37 children, a number limited due to the fears of prominent Norwegians that there would be too many jews here.
Section chief Carl Platou in the Ministry of Justice was afraid that the children with time could awaken a sprouting anti-Semitism. The danger of getting stuck with the children, as he wrote, was large:
"We must take into account that a larger number of them will remain in Norway and will constitute a Jewish strain in the people and in commerce", he wrote."
Sweden: Aftonbladet's accusations are anti-Semitic according to Council of Europe and OSCE classification
From the paper edition of Norway’s largest daily Verdens Gang (VG). Notice how the Ministry of Justice Section Chief feared that taking in more children would encourage anti-Semitism. Oddly reminiscent of Dagsavisen’s Mr. Iversen, who the other day warned that Israeli reaction to Daniel Boström’s blood-libel story was rabid and might encourage anti-Semitism. Mr. Iversen even had the audacity to remind that Israel needs friends in Europe now more than ever, and should be careful not to push them away.
Oh Norway, beloved Norway, we deserve better than this.
"Few children to Norway
BERGEN (VG) Just before WWII broke out England generously received 10 000 Jewish children who were sent to safety by nervous parents in Germany and neighbouring countries.
Norway received only 37 children, a number limited due to the fears of prominent Norwegians that there would be too many jews here.
Section chief Carl Platou in the Ministry of Justice was afraid that the children with time could awaken a sprouting anti-Semitism. The danger of getting stuck with the children, as he wrote, was large:
"We must take into account that a larger number of them will remain in Norway and will constitute a Jewish strain in the people and in commerce", he wrote."
Sweden: Aftonbladet's accusations are anti-Semitic according to Council of Europe and OSCE classification
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Benny Morris says Norwegian ex-PM Kåre Willoch is lying
"Historians who play fair are offended when history is distorted for polical gain. It is especially provocative for historians when the distortions alledgedly are based on one's own work. Kåre Willoch, former premier and outspoken defender of the Palestinian cause, is one such serial abuser. In a deceptive manner he refers to my work on the Arab-Israeli concflict in order to find support for his own allegations (calling me "an outstanding Israeli historian" to boot)." (Benny Morris)
Source: article in "Norway, Israel and the Jews" blog
There is unfortunately no "anti-Norwegian" smear campaign to blame. When Norway looks bad it’s because prominent Norwegians, in their endeavours to smear Israel, occasionally go wrong and smear themselves by accident. The most recent example is Anette Trettebergstuen’s attribution of a quote from this site ("In addition to being gay, Trettebergstuen is fiercely secular") to an unnamed "Israeli newspaper", an act of shortsighted Israel-bashing which the Labor parlamentarian is yet to be taken to task for.
Former premier Kåre Willoch however, remains the classic example of how prominent Norwegians manage to smear themselves in the process of making Israel look bad.
For years Mr. Willoch has misquoted and misinterpreted the Israeli historian Benny Morris, the world’s leading authority (truth be told, there are not that many of them) on the Palestinian refugee crisis of 1948. According to Willoch, Morris has himself verified how the Jewish expulsion of Arabs from Palestine was a planned and deliberate event which commenced already prior to 1948. For years Norway’s main pro-Israel organization MIFF has contested Willoch’s claims. In June of this year Benny Morris even visited Norway in order to attend a conference on the Middle East refugee problem, giving Willoch an excellent opportunity to sort things out, yet nothing came of it. Not a single Norwegian journalist attended the conference, and only one reported on it (in DagenMagazinet – a Christian daily).
At some point Morris must have said to himself that "enough is enough", whereupon he wrote an op-ed to Norway’s largest newspaper Verdens Gang. The op-ed ran on Tuesday, here’s an unauthorized NIJ translation of the introduction and conclusion (Read Morris’ book to fill in the gap):
"Willoch’s lies
Historians who play fair are offended when history is distorted for polical gain. It is especially provocative for historians when the distortions alledgedly are based on one's own work.
Kåre Willoch, former premier and outspoken defender of the Palestinian cause, is one such serial abuser. In a deceptive manner he refers to my work on the Arab-Israeli concflict in order to find support for his own allegations (calling me "an outstanding Israeli historian" to boot).
In an op-ed in VG on May 25th 2008 and in a speech in Skien on March 6th 2007 Willoch claimed that the Palestinian Arabs were driven from their homes by the Israelis in 1948 through "dreadful massacres".
The massacres were intended to "force as many Palestinians as possible to leave areas which Jewish leaders wanted Israel to have" and were "systematically planned". In Skien Willoch said that "Morris’ theory is that the supreme Jewish leaders wanted it this way".
According to Willoch these massacres occurred prior to the invasion of the Arab armies into Palestine on May 15th – framing it as if the innocent Palestinians were attacked without reason, and that the Arabs invaded (righteously) in order to save them.
This concoction is a full and complete lie – reinforced through deliberate omissions.
…
What Willoch spreads in propaganda. Readers who are interested in finding out what really happened, ought to turn towards other sources."
It is a relief to see how Norway’s largest newspaper finally brought this affair to what we must hope is its conclusion. Way to go, VG !
- Benny Morris: "Kåre Willoch simplifies and misleads"
- Benny Morris, Ilan Pappe and the market for historical fact
Source: article in "Norway, Israel and the Jews" blogThere is unfortunately no "anti-Norwegian" smear campaign to blame. When Norway looks bad it’s because prominent Norwegians, in their endeavours to smear Israel, occasionally go wrong and smear themselves by accident. The most recent example is Anette Trettebergstuen’s attribution of a quote from this site ("In addition to being gay, Trettebergstuen is fiercely secular") to an unnamed "Israeli newspaper", an act of shortsighted Israel-bashing which the Labor parlamentarian is yet to be taken to task for.
Former premier Kåre Willoch however, remains the classic example of how prominent Norwegians manage to smear themselves in the process of making Israel look bad.
For years Mr. Willoch has misquoted and misinterpreted the Israeli historian Benny Morris, the world’s leading authority (truth be told, there are not that many of them) on the Palestinian refugee crisis of 1948. According to Willoch, Morris has himself verified how the Jewish expulsion of Arabs from Palestine was a planned and deliberate event which commenced already prior to 1948. For years Norway’s main pro-Israel organization MIFF has contested Willoch’s claims. In June of this year Benny Morris even visited Norway in order to attend a conference on the Middle East refugee problem, giving Willoch an excellent opportunity to sort things out, yet nothing came of it. Not a single Norwegian journalist attended the conference, and only one reported on it (in DagenMagazinet – a Christian daily).
At some point Morris must have said to himself that "enough is enough", whereupon he wrote an op-ed to Norway’s largest newspaper Verdens Gang. The op-ed ran on Tuesday, here’s an unauthorized NIJ translation of the introduction and conclusion (Read Morris’ book to fill in the gap):
"Willoch’s lies
Historians who play fair are offended when history is distorted for polical gain. It is especially provocative for historians when the distortions alledgedly are based on one's own work.
Kåre Willoch, former premier and outspoken defender of the Palestinian cause, is one such serial abuser. In a deceptive manner he refers to my work on the Arab-Israeli concflict in order to find support for his own allegations (calling me "an outstanding Israeli historian" to boot).
In an op-ed in VG on May 25th 2008 and in a speech in Skien on March 6th 2007 Willoch claimed that the Palestinian Arabs were driven from their homes by the Israelis in 1948 through "dreadful massacres".
The massacres were intended to "force as many Palestinians as possible to leave areas which Jewish leaders wanted Israel to have" and were "systematically planned". In Skien Willoch said that "Morris’ theory is that the supreme Jewish leaders wanted it this way".
According to Willoch these massacres occurred prior to the invasion of the Arab armies into Palestine on May 15th – framing it as if the innocent Palestinians were attacked without reason, and that the Arabs invaded (righteously) in order to save them.
This concoction is a full and complete lie – reinforced through deliberate omissions.
…
What Willoch spreads in propaganda. Readers who are interested in finding out what really happened, ought to turn towards other sources."
It is a relief to see how Norway’s largest newspaper finally brought this affair to what we must hope is its conclusion. Way to go, VG !
- Benny Morris: "Kåre Willoch simplifies and misleads"
- Benny Morris, Ilan Pappe and the market for historical fact
Sunday, 16 August 2009
Norway: Socialist Anette Trettebergstuen and the non-existent “Israeli newspaper”
"The post questions how Trettebergstuen, a secular, female homosexual, can single out for criticism the one state in the Middle East which is the most tolerant of secular, female homosexuals like herself."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews
Imagine that an Israeli politician reads an Israeli blog and gets the impression that she is being persecuted by a Norwegian newspaper. Imagine that the Israeli politician proceeds to alert Israel of this erroneous conclusion through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Now picture how Norwegians, watching all of this, would react. Would they not be amused? Would they not perhaps suggest that the Israeli politician was being just a tad paranoid about the "persecuted by Norwegians" thing, and would not such a suggestion be legitimate? Oh yes. Yet it is exactly this which has happened, except the other way around.
Yesterday Labor parlamentarian Annette Trettebergstuen read this post [Secular, gay politician boycotts Jerusalem gay pride], here on NIJ. The post questions how Trettebergstuen, a secular, female homosexual, can single out for criticism the one state in the Middle East which is the most tolerant of secular, female homosexuals like herself. Unfortunately Trettebergstuen’s interpretation of the post led her to conclude that some "Israeli newspaper" was slamming her for her sexual preferences. Subsequently the politician proceeded to post her thoughts on the matter on Twitter, whereupon this site immediately published a post alerting to the facts of the matter. By then, in a flurry of social networking, Trettebergstuen had already moved on to Facebook where she repeated her mistaken suspicion of being targeted by "an Israeli newspaper".
Below we see how Trettebergstuen and someone claiming to be Mads Larsen, author of the novel "Pornopung" (Shaved male genitalia) joke about the imagined "Israeli newspaper".
Related:
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews
Imagine that an Israeli politician reads an Israeli blog and gets the impression that she is being persecuted by a Norwegian newspaper. Imagine that the Israeli politician proceeds to alert Israel of this erroneous conclusion through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Now picture how Norwegians, watching all of this, would react. Would they not be amused? Would they not perhaps suggest that the Israeli politician was being just a tad paranoid about the "persecuted by Norwegians" thing, and would not such a suggestion be legitimate? Oh yes. Yet it is exactly this which has happened, except the other way around.
Yesterday Labor parlamentarian Annette Trettebergstuen read this post [Secular, gay politician boycotts Jerusalem gay pride], here on NIJ. The post questions how Trettebergstuen, a secular, female homosexual, can single out for criticism the one state in the Middle East which is the most tolerant of secular, female homosexuals like herself. Unfortunately Trettebergstuen’s interpretation of the post led her to conclude that some "Israeli newspaper" was slamming her for her sexual preferences. Subsequently the politician proceeded to post her thoughts on the matter on Twitter, whereupon this site immediately published a post alerting to the facts of the matter. By then, in a flurry of social networking, Trettebergstuen had already moved on to Facebook where she repeated her mistaken suspicion of being targeted by "an Israeli newspaper".
Below we see how Trettebergstuen and someone claiming to be Mads Larsen, author of the novel "Pornopung" (Shaved male genitalia) joke about the imagined "Israeli newspaper".
If this site inadvertently led Trettebergstuen to believe that she was being written about by a Israeli newspaper – our sincere apologies. If however Trettebergstuen just jumped at the opportunity of accusing Israel of something nasty, or just was not concentrating very well while she read – then the apology is for her to make. We do need to maintain certain standards here. After all, Trettebergstuen is a member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs committe (see textbox beneath photograph).
Related:
"Norwegian journalists keep close tabs on Norwegian politicians. From time to time Norwegian journalists also visit this site. Yet no newspaper has picked up on Annette Trettebergstuen’s made-up story about the "Israeli newspaper". Hopefully, one will do so tomorrow.
The reason this story is important is that it serves as an illustration of how easy it is to make erroneous allegations against Israel. Bad news about Israel is believable because Israel itself is bad. And how do we know that Israel is bad? Well, because we read bad news about Israel all the time. And why do we read so much bad news about Israel? Well obviously, it’s because Israel is just so dreadfully bad. And how do we know that Israel is so bad?"
The reason this story is important is that it serves as an illustration of how easy it is to make erroneous allegations against Israel. Bad news about Israel is believable because Israel itself is bad. And how do we know that Israel is bad? Well, because we read bad news about Israel all the time. And why do we read so much bad news about Israel? Well obviously, it’s because Israel is just so dreadfully bad. And how do we know that Israel is so bad?"
"This site has no problems with homosexuality. To the contrary, this site applauds homosexuality. Regions with a high proportion of gays prosper. Regions with low tolerance levels of homosexuality tend to fail. Besides, no homosexual ever threw a molotov cocktail at us. This site has a problem with those segments of society which attribute the origin of all their troubles to someone else, in this case Israel, just because it is convenient and the zeitgeist allows for it. A society at perfect health just does not behave like this.
Annette, we are not slamming your sexuality. We are bemoaning the state of the Norwegian Middle East debate and how people are conditioned to react. And we are not an Israeli newspaper, we’re a Norwegian blog."
Annette, we are not slamming your sexuality. We are bemoaning the state of the Norwegian Middle East debate and how people are conditioned to react. And we are not an Israeli newspaper, we’re a Norwegian blog."
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Behind the Humanitarian Mask: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland
"Sweden is the Scandinavian country where anti-Semitism is thriving, where there is a scathing and poisonous anti-Israelism and demonization of Israel. This trend, which has its beginning at the end of the 1960s in the days of the radical Prime Minister Olof Palme, continued into the days of those who followed him and, at times it even intensified. Sweden, a seemingly secular country, has a very active partner in these negative trends - the Lutheran Church. How strange that this church runs the "Swedish Theological Center" in Beit Tavor on "The Street of the Prophets" in Jerusalem, where the study plan, the atmosphere and its leaders are so anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
Here is a book review by Moshe Yegar, a former Israeli ambassador to Sweden, printed in Israel Today, a scholarly journal.
Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic Countries, Israel and the Jews [in pdf]
Sweden
The Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway, Denmark - as well as Finland enjoy a very positive image in the world. Many people are convinced that these democratic countries aim for peace, that their policies are based on justice, concern for human rights and moral humanitarian considerations, and that they help the underprivileged of the world as well as those suffering in regimes of oppression. Apparently the first person to question this, at least in regard to Sweden, was the British researcher, Professor Roland Huntford, of Cambridge University. In 1972 he published a profound study of the Swedish regime under the Social-Democratic Party, which has ruled the country since the early 1930s till now, with short interruptions. The title of his book, The New Totalitarians, as well as it contents, is very informative.
The name of the book before us now, Behind the Humanitarian Mask, and its content as well, are equally instructive. Its editor Dr Manfred Gerstenfeld is one of the most outstanding experts on Western anti-Semitism today. This is the fourteenth book he has written or edited, either alone or with partners. This time he has concentrated on the three Scandinavian countries and Finland, with an interesting chapter on Iceland.
It is no surprise that this book reveals that Sweden is the Scandinavian country where anti-Semitism is thriving, where there is a scathing and poisonous anti-Israelism and demonization of Israel. This trend, which has its beginning at the end of the 1960s in the days of the radical Prime Minister Olof Palme, continued into the days of those who followed him and, at times it even intensified. Sweden, a seemingly secular country, has a very active partner in these negative trends - the Lutheran Church. How strange that this church runs the "Swedish Theological Center" in Beit Tavor on "The Street of the Prophets" in Jerusalem, where the study plan, the atmosphere and its leaders are so anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian.
Besides the government itself, there are many important groups within the ruling Social-Democratic party, as well as other active Leftists and journalists who are responsible for the anti-Semitic activity and the anti-Israeli demonization propaganda in Sweden. They all hide behind a self-righteous appearance, hypocritical declarations about concern for human rights and anti-Semitic hypocrisy expressed as moral superiority. These trends, sometimes inconsistent, go hand in hand in Sweden as well as in the neighboring countries. Since outward anti-Semitism is not very fashionable in the world today, since the Nazi regime in Europe, these poisonous ideas are masked as anti-Zionist or anti-Israel, and are much more acceptable today in Leftist circles, as well as in the Right, among the Lutheran clergy, academics and media personalities. All of these have been active in the last generation, together with fundamentalist Muslim clergy within the ever growing Muslim communities, which are strongly involved in promoting Islamic anti-Semitism.
One prominent example of typical hypocritical Swedish policy is its attitude toward the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, the greatest of the righteous Gentiles. As is well known, he was active in Budapest at the end of the Second World War and succeeded in saving many thousands of Jews. With him was a young Swedish diplomat named Per Anger. After the war Anger returned to Stockholm and continued to work in the foreign service until his retirement. He devoted many years to researching the fate of Wallenberg and to attempt to free him from the Soviets. After he retired, he published a book - a sharp and serious accusation of his government - in which he brought out details and proof that Wallenberg had been knowingly abandoned by the governments of Sweden throughout the years, due to their fear of the Soviets. For many years Sweden did nothing to bring about Wallenberg’s release or to find out what had happened to him. A major role in this was played by the well-known Swedish ambassador Gunnar Jarring, (who is best known in Israel because of his UN peace mission to the Middle East) during his term as Sweden’s ambassador to Moscow. Only around 1990, at the time of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, did Sweden begin to think of Wallenberg as an asset, to memorialize him, to turn him into a national hero and to recognize his work, as if that had been an official Swedish undertaking.
The successive governments of Sweden have contributed their share to the anti-Israel atmosphere by expressing anti-Israeli ideas in various spheres, and by giving money to Palestinian groups, through under-cover organizations and also up-front organizations. Part of this financial aid has been used for anti-Israeli propaganda, and perhaps even worse than that.
Included in the book is a very interesting interview with Zvi Mazel, who was Israel’s ambassador in Stockholm between December 2002 and April 2004. Mazel tells how he found a country whose hate for Israel is nurtured by ruling groups, which has an extremely hostile press, and which tends to preach morality in a superior righteous and boastful tone. He paints a picture which is not known to many. Dr. Mikael Tossavainen, a Swedish historian, publishes a study of Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism in Sweden, including acts of violence against Jews, which have occurred as a result of the large Muslim immigration.
In his article, Professor Gerald Steinberg of Bar-Ilan University tells of the plots of the Swedish Agency for Foreign Aid, a branch of the Swedish Foreign Office, which distributes general financial support to Palestinian organizations which, under the mask of humanitarian aid, is used for anti-Israeli activities. These are official Swedish actions. It is hard to understand how the Government of Israel seems to be totally indifferent to these activities and does not find a way to react. In view of what has been said till now, it is not difficult to understand how Sweden refused to bring Nazi criminals to trial, and even offered them immunity. Among them are Swedes who had volunteered for the SS, just as in Norway and Denmark, and there were many thousands of such volunteers.
Norway
The situation is not much different in Norway, another country which enjoys a very positive image in the world, but which also stands out in the level of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism in the country, among the same types of groups as in Sweden, including government ministers, heads of the Lutheran church, trade unions, academics, etc. A particular Norwegian "specialty" is publishing anti-Semitic cartoons in the manner of the Nazi Stürmer. One article in the book deals with this issue. The radicalization of the extreme anti-Israelism stood out especially during the First Lebanon War (1982-1984), and has continued till now. There was no other country in the West where Israel was attacked - in an anti-Semitic way - so strongly as in Norway and its media. Here too there is a strong connection between extreme Leftist groups and Muslim groups in the distribution of anti-Semitic propaganda material. And to these we can also add neo-Nazi groups and Lutheran clergy.
Denmark
In Denmark as well there are waves of the "new" anti-Semitism and hatred of Zionism and Israel amongst the same groups, although there it seems to be a bit less malicious. Everyone remembers to compliment the Danes for good work during the Second World War and for their saving 7,000 Jews who were transferred in small boats to the Swedish coast in October 1943. It is only in the last decade that some very problematic and unpleasant facts hitherto unknown regarding the behaviour of Denmark during that period have come to light, including the degree of its cooperation with the Nazis. Facts about handing Jews over to the Nazis, as well as other unpleasant information about the treatment of Jewish refugees, have been uncovered. This subject is covered in this book in a special article written by two Danish researchers.
Another fact unknown until now is that about 6,000 Danish volunteers fought in SS units and even participated in the murder of Jews in eastern Galicia, together with Norwegian and Swedish volunteers. Since the War the governments of Denmark have done their best to keep this information secret, as well as the story of the cooperation between Danish food industries with contractor companies which worked for the German army, using slave labour and of course benefitting financially.
In another article negative information about the "white buses" affair is brought to light, as the Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte was connected to this. The first to expose this issue was the British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, who was criticized for publishing his findings, yet he was revealing the truth. The great wonder was how Yad VaShem fell into this Swedish propaganda trap and erected a "white bus" on its premises. The management of Yad VaShem should have known that there are many question marks surrounding this issue.
Finland
Little is known about Finland’s behaviour during the Second World War. Finland has won great sympathy in the world, including from Jews, due to the "White War" she fought so valiantly against the Red Army, and because her leader, Marshall Gustaf Emil Mannerheim did not allow the Jewish-Finnish soldiers to be harmed. There were those in his government who wanted to hand them over to the Nazis. But Finland did also give up Jews to the Gestapo, especially Jewish soldiers in the Red Army who were taken prisoner. In a short essay, Professor Steinberg gives illustrative details of significant current Finnish financial help to Palestinian organizations, supposedly for humanitarian purposes, but actually it goes to less honourable use, especially anti-Israeli propaganda, much like the financial support from Sweden, Norway and Denmark (according to various rumors there are some organizations in Israel generally referred to as the "Peace Camp" which are also benefitting from these funds - a subject worthy of examination).
Iceland
The editor of this book, Dr Gerstenfeld, has done well in adding a very interesting article on Iceland, although this is an unusual issue and Iceland cannot be put in the same category as the other Scandinavian countries. This article examines the history of anti-Semitism in Iceland - an island where Jews arrived only in the 1930s- from 1625 till 2004. We have learned from other countries that Jews don’t have to be present in a place in order for anti-Semitism to develop. Anti-Semitism and anti-Semites existed in Iceland long before the arrival of a few Jews. The authorities of the island always made it difficult for any Jews who wished to settle there. It is hard to believe, but even in Iceland, before the Second World War, there was a small Nazi party. And several volunteers from Iceland also found their way into service in the SS. After the war, even in Iceland there were Holocaust deniers and those who distributed anti-Israel propaganda. And now, here we have an irony of history - the president of Iceland is married to an Israeli woman - Dorit Moussayef!
Dr Gerstenfeld has gathered very valuable material for this which must be brought to the attention of a wide audience. It is especially important that this book be distributed, as widely as possible, in the Scandinavian countries themselves. It would be good for those communities to see this book as the mirror it is, to see their picture without a mask, and perhaps this could lead to the birth of some positive groups who will be strong enough to bring about change.
Moshe Yegar
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
Here is a book review by Moshe Yegar, a former Israeli ambassador to Sweden, printed in Israel Today, a scholarly journal.
Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic Countries, Israel and the Jews [in pdf]
Sweden
The Scandinavian countries - Sweden, Norway, Denmark - as well as Finland enjoy a very positive image in the world. Many people are convinced that these democratic countries aim for peace, that their policies are based on justice, concern for human rights and moral humanitarian considerations, and that they help the underprivileged of the world as well as those suffering in regimes of oppression. Apparently the first person to question this, at least in regard to Sweden, was the British researcher, Professor Roland Huntford, of Cambridge University. In 1972 he published a profound study of the Swedish regime under the Social-Democratic Party, which has ruled the country since the early 1930s till now, with short interruptions. The title of his book, The New Totalitarians, as well as it contents, is very informative.
The name of the book before us now, Behind the Humanitarian Mask, and its content as well, are equally instructive. Its editor Dr Manfred Gerstenfeld is one of the most outstanding experts on Western anti-Semitism today. This is the fourteenth book he has written or edited, either alone or with partners. This time he has concentrated on the three Scandinavian countries and Finland, with an interesting chapter on Iceland.
It is no surprise that this book reveals that Sweden is the Scandinavian country where anti-Semitism is thriving, where there is a scathing and poisonous anti-Israelism and demonization of Israel. This trend, which has its beginning at the end of the 1960s in the days of the radical Prime Minister Olof Palme, continued into the days of those who followed him and, at times it even intensified. Sweden, a seemingly secular country, has a very active partner in these negative trends - the Lutheran Church. How strange that this church runs the "Swedish Theological Center" in Beit Tavor on "The Street of the Prophets" in Jerusalem, where the study plan, the atmosphere and its leaders are so anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian.
Besides the government itself, there are many important groups within the ruling Social-Democratic party, as well as other active Leftists and journalists who are responsible for the anti-Semitic activity and the anti-Israeli demonization propaganda in Sweden. They all hide behind a self-righteous appearance, hypocritical declarations about concern for human rights and anti-Semitic hypocrisy expressed as moral superiority. These trends, sometimes inconsistent, go hand in hand in Sweden as well as in the neighboring countries. Since outward anti-Semitism is not very fashionable in the world today, since the Nazi regime in Europe, these poisonous ideas are masked as anti-Zionist or anti-Israel, and are much more acceptable today in Leftist circles, as well as in the Right, among the Lutheran clergy, academics and media personalities. All of these have been active in the last generation, together with fundamentalist Muslim clergy within the ever growing Muslim communities, which are strongly involved in promoting Islamic anti-Semitism.
One prominent example of typical hypocritical Swedish policy is its attitude toward the fate of Raoul Wallenberg, the greatest of the righteous Gentiles. As is well known, he was active in Budapest at the end of the Second World War and succeeded in saving many thousands of Jews. With him was a young Swedish diplomat named Per Anger. After the war Anger returned to Stockholm and continued to work in the foreign service until his retirement. He devoted many years to researching the fate of Wallenberg and to attempt to free him from the Soviets. After he retired, he published a book - a sharp and serious accusation of his government - in which he brought out details and proof that Wallenberg had been knowingly abandoned by the governments of Sweden throughout the years, due to their fear of the Soviets. For many years Sweden did nothing to bring about Wallenberg’s release or to find out what had happened to him. A major role in this was played by the well-known Swedish ambassador Gunnar Jarring, (who is best known in Israel because of his UN peace mission to the Middle East) during his term as Sweden’s ambassador to Moscow. Only around 1990, at the time of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, did Sweden begin to think of Wallenberg as an asset, to memorialize him, to turn him into a national hero and to recognize his work, as if that had been an official Swedish undertaking.
The successive governments of Sweden have contributed their share to the anti-Israel atmosphere by expressing anti-Israeli ideas in various spheres, and by giving money to Palestinian groups, through under-cover organizations and also up-front organizations. Part of this financial aid has been used for anti-Israeli propaganda, and perhaps even worse than that.
Included in the book is a very interesting interview with Zvi Mazel, who was Israel’s ambassador in Stockholm between December 2002 and April 2004. Mazel tells how he found a country whose hate for Israel is nurtured by ruling groups, which has an extremely hostile press, and which tends to preach morality in a superior righteous and boastful tone. He paints a picture which is not known to many. Dr. Mikael Tossavainen, a Swedish historian, publishes a study of Arab and Muslim anti-Semitism in Sweden, including acts of violence against Jews, which have occurred as a result of the large Muslim immigration.
In his article, Professor Gerald Steinberg of Bar-Ilan University tells of the plots of the Swedish Agency for Foreign Aid, a branch of the Swedish Foreign Office, which distributes general financial support to Palestinian organizations which, under the mask of humanitarian aid, is used for anti-Israeli activities. These are official Swedish actions. It is hard to understand how the Government of Israel seems to be totally indifferent to these activities and does not find a way to react. In view of what has been said till now, it is not difficult to understand how Sweden refused to bring Nazi criminals to trial, and even offered them immunity. Among them are Swedes who had volunteered for the SS, just as in Norway and Denmark, and there were many thousands of such volunteers.
Norway
The situation is not much different in Norway, another country which enjoys a very positive image in the world, but which also stands out in the level of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism in the country, among the same types of groups as in Sweden, including government ministers, heads of the Lutheran church, trade unions, academics, etc. A particular Norwegian "specialty" is publishing anti-Semitic cartoons in the manner of the Nazi Stürmer. One article in the book deals with this issue. The radicalization of the extreme anti-Israelism stood out especially during the First Lebanon War (1982-1984), and has continued till now. There was no other country in the West where Israel was attacked - in an anti-Semitic way - so strongly as in Norway and its media. Here too there is a strong connection between extreme Leftist groups and Muslim groups in the distribution of anti-Semitic propaganda material. And to these we can also add neo-Nazi groups and Lutheran clergy.
Denmark
In Denmark as well there are waves of the "new" anti-Semitism and hatred of Zionism and Israel amongst the same groups, although there it seems to be a bit less malicious. Everyone remembers to compliment the Danes for good work during the Second World War and for their saving 7,000 Jews who were transferred in small boats to the Swedish coast in October 1943. It is only in the last decade that some very problematic and unpleasant facts hitherto unknown regarding the behaviour of Denmark during that period have come to light, including the degree of its cooperation with the Nazis. Facts about handing Jews over to the Nazis, as well as other unpleasant information about the treatment of Jewish refugees, have been uncovered. This subject is covered in this book in a special article written by two Danish researchers.
Another fact unknown until now is that about 6,000 Danish volunteers fought in SS units and even participated in the murder of Jews in eastern Galicia, together with Norwegian and Swedish volunteers. Since the War the governments of Denmark have done their best to keep this information secret, as well as the story of the cooperation between Danish food industries with contractor companies which worked for the German army, using slave labour and of course benefitting financially.
In another article negative information about the "white buses" affair is brought to light, as the Swedish Count Folke Bernadotte was connected to this. The first to expose this issue was the British historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, who was criticized for publishing his findings, yet he was revealing the truth. The great wonder was how Yad VaShem fell into this Swedish propaganda trap and erected a "white bus" on its premises. The management of Yad VaShem should have known that there are many question marks surrounding this issue.
Finland
Little is known about Finland’s behaviour during the Second World War. Finland has won great sympathy in the world, including from Jews, due to the "White War" she fought so valiantly against the Red Army, and because her leader, Marshall Gustaf Emil Mannerheim did not allow the Jewish-Finnish soldiers to be harmed. There were those in his government who wanted to hand them over to the Nazis. But Finland did also give up Jews to the Gestapo, especially Jewish soldiers in the Red Army who were taken prisoner. In a short essay, Professor Steinberg gives illustrative details of significant current Finnish financial help to Palestinian organizations, supposedly for humanitarian purposes, but actually it goes to less honourable use, especially anti-Israeli propaganda, much like the financial support from Sweden, Norway and Denmark (according to various rumors there are some organizations in Israel generally referred to as the "Peace Camp" which are also benefitting from these funds - a subject worthy of examination).
Iceland
The editor of this book, Dr Gerstenfeld, has done well in adding a very interesting article on Iceland, although this is an unusual issue and Iceland cannot be put in the same category as the other Scandinavian countries. This article examines the history of anti-Semitism in Iceland - an island where Jews arrived only in the 1930s- from 1625 till 2004. We have learned from other countries that Jews don’t have to be present in a place in order for anti-Semitism to develop. Anti-Semitism and anti-Semites existed in Iceland long before the arrival of a few Jews. The authorities of the island always made it difficult for any Jews who wished to settle there. It is hard to believe, but even in Iceland, before the Second World War, there was a small Nazi party. And several volunteers from Iceland also found their way into service in the SS. After the war, even in Iceland there were Holocaust deniers and those who distributed anti-Israel propaganda. And now, here we have an irony of history - the president of Iceland is married to an Israeli woman - Dorit Moussayef!
Dr Gerstenfeld has gathered very valuable material for this which must be brought to the attention of a wide audience. It is especially important that this book be distributed, as widely as possible, in the Scandinavian countries themselves. It would be good for those communities to see this book as the mirror it is, to see their picture without a mask, and perhaps this could lead to the birth of some positive groups who will be strong enough to bring about change.
Moshe Yegar
Monday, 3 August 2009
The EU and Norway hit out at Israel's eviction of Palestinian families
Unsurprisingly ... BRUSSELS/OSLO (EJP)---The European Union hit out Monday at Israel's "unacceptable" eviction of two Palestinian families from a neighbourhood in east Jerusalem at the weekend.
In a statement, the Swedish EU presidency said: "The presidency of the European Union reiterates its serious concerns about the continued and unacceptable evictions in east Jerusalem, notably the evictions by Israeli authorities of two families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood on Sunday 2 August 2009."
"The presidency recalls that house demolitions, evictions and settlement activities in east Jerusalem are illegal under international law," the statement went on.
"The presidency recalls that house demolitions, evictions and settlement activities in east Jerusalem are illegal under international law," the statement went on.
"In addition, the actions taken by the Israeli government contravene repeated calls by the international community, including the Quartet, to refrain from any provocative actions in East Jerusalem."
"These actions confirm a worrying trend that runs counter to the creation of an atmosphere conducive to achieving a viable and credible solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians," the Swedish presidency said.
Israeli police evicted the two Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah district of east Jerusalem on Sunday. The Supreme Court ordered the evictions following an appeal by the Nahalat Shimon International settler group which claimed Jewish settlers have title deeds for the properties, despite UN and Palestinian denials.
In Oslo, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called the eviction of the Palestinian families "a breach of Israel's obligations under international law".
"The destruction of Palestinian homes and the construction of new settlements in East Jerusalem is jeopardising the peace process," Stoere said in a statement. He added that the international community has repeatedly urged Israel to "refrain from such provocative acts towards Palestinians" as "this is undermining the prospects for resolving the issue of Jerusalem within the frame of a two-state solution."
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Norwegian diplomat posted cartoon showing Israeli PM "deadly intestinal gas"
"While we would like to think that the e-mail incident was just a mistake and that Mrs. Lilleng is no more anti-Israeli than anyone else in the Norwegian Foreign Department, these three shots from her now closed blog tell us otherwise." (Norway, Israel and the Jews blog)
Wiesenthal Center urges Norwegian FM to reprimand senior diplomat for antisemitic email
These drawings were posted by Norwegian diplomat Trine Lilleng on her blog and are by cartoonist Carlos Latuff. The idea that a European diplomat chose to post a drawing showing an Israeli P.M. destroying Gaza by breaking wind and defecating is appalling. Even more so because it is the work by Carlos Latuff who entered and won second prize in the 2006 viciously antisemitic Iranian Holocaust Cartoon Competition.
"Olmert's flatulence: Certain foods counteract the production of Ehud Olmert's deadly intestinal gas, most notably U.S. dollars." (Carlos Latuff)
Background to this story:Wiesenthal Center urges Norwegian FM to reprimand senior diplomat for antisemitic email
These drawings were posted by Norwegian diplomat Trine Lilleng on her blog and are by cartoonist Carlos Latuff. The idea that a European diplomat chose to post a drawing showing an Israeli P.M. destroying Gaza by breaking wind and defecating is appalling. Even more so because it is the work by Carlos Latuff who entered and won second prize in the 2006 viciously antisemitic Iranian Holocaust Cartoon Competition.
Close ups of drawings posted by the Norwegian diplomat on her now closed blog:
Latuff's explation : "Olmert's flatulence Certain foods counteract the production of Ehud Olmert's deadly intestinal gas, most notably U.S. dollars."
From her blog where just after showing so much compassion for the Palestinians and anger at Israel she writes about a "A Saudi Friday brunch on 77th floor" and about her deliciously glamorous abaya :
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
Wiesenthal Center urges Norwegian FM to reprimand senior diplomat for antisemitic email
"Here is a press release from the Wiesenthal Center, addressed as a letter to Norway’s Foreign Minister - Jonas Gahr Störe. As readers of this site will be fully aware of, Mr. Störe has previously denied that Trine Lilleng is still in Riyadh. When Haaretz found out that she actually has stayed on in Riyadh, Mr. Störe countered by denying ever having said that she was not. Shame on you, Mr. Störe." (Norway, Israel and the Jews blog)
E-mail sent through Ministry account condemns Israel with "outrageous rhetoric and imagery that clearly demeans and diminishes the victims of the Holocaust, and that helps spawn hatred of Jews and the Jewish state".
Just days after a speech at the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (ITF) where he called for more robust action against Holocaust denial and relativism, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Störe was urged by the Simon Wiesenthal Center to put his words into action and publicly condemn an anti-Semitic, anti-Israel e-mail sent by a senior Norwegian diplomat. According to the Israeli paper, Ha’aretz, while serving as First Secretary in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trine Lilleng sent an email through her official government account that juxtaposed "images of slain children said to have been killed in the Israeli attack on Hamas in Gaza, …with photos of Jewish Holocaust victims" with a text that said "I always wondered why they didn't learn anything from the horror during WWII. Now I see what they learnt."
The Center expressed concern that Ms. Lilleng has yet to be reprimanded and has reportedly been promoted.
In a letter to Minister Störe, who is also the current ITF Chair, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center’s Israeli Director and Mark Weitzman, Director of the Center’s Task Force Against Hate and Terrorism, said, "It is just such outrageous rhetoric and imagery that clearly demeans and diminishes the victims of the Holocaust, and that helps spawn hatred of Jews and the Jewish state. It is a prime example of the kind of Holocaust relativization that you spoke out so strongly against at the ITF Plenary."
Center officials told Störe that, "it certainly behooves the head of the Ministry that she serves to publicly denounce her hate-spam and to take direct action to ensure that such behavior is not seen to be rewarded or to reflect Norway's official position on these issues."
This controversy comes on the heels of the controversial decision by Norway to celebrate the 150th birthday of Knut Hamsun, who in 1943, during the height of WWII and the Nazi Holocaust, met with Hitler and gave his Nobel Prize in Literature to Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels. Many considered this pro-Nazi collaborator as a traitor to his people and the Wiesenthal Center has protested what appears to be a whitewash of history.
Source: Simon Wiesenthal Center press release
Norway, Israel and the Jews blog has been following this affair:
- Støre’s Faustian pact: Trine Lilleng and the Saudi Prince
- Trine Lilleng still in Riyadh - possibly promoted
- Trine Lilleng - asset or liability for Jonas Gahr Støre?
- Five months since AJC Called on Norway to Repudiate Trine Lilleng for Nazi Analogy
- California professor uses Trine Lilleng’s photographs
- Diplomatic envoy Trine Lilleng
E-mail sent through Ministry account condemns Israel with "outrageous rhetoric and imagery that clearly demeans and diminishes the victims of the Holocaust, and that helps spawn hatred of Jews and the Jewish state".
Just days after a speech at the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research (ITF) where he called for more robust action against Holocaust denial and relativism, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Störe was urged by the Simon Wiesenthal Center to put his words into action and publicly condemn an anti-Semitic, anti-Israel e-mail sent by a senior Norwegian diplomat. According to the Israeli paper, Ha’aretz, while serving as First Secretary in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Trine Lilleng sent an email through her official government account that juxtaposed "images of slain children said to have been killed in the Israeli attack on Hamas in Gaza, …with photos of Jewish Holocaust victims" with a text that said "I always wondered why they didn't learn anything from the horror during WWII. Now I see what they learnt."
The Center expressed concern that Ms. Lilleng has yet to be reprimanded and has reportedly been promoted.
In a letter to Minister Störe, who is also the current ITF Chair, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Wiesenthal Center, Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center’s Israeli Director and Mark Weitzman, Director of the Center’s Task Force Against Hate and Terrorism, said, "It is just such outrageous rhetoric and imagery that clearly demeans and diminishes the victims of the Holocaust, and that helps spawn hatred of Jews and the Jewish state. It is a prime example of the kind of Holocaust relativization that you spoke out so strongly against at the ITF Plenary."
Center officials told Störe that, "it certainly behooves the head of the Ministry that she serves to publicly denounce her hate-spam and to take direct action to ensure that such behavior is not seen to be rewarded or to reflect Norway's official position on these issues."
This controversy comes on the heels of the controversial decision by Norway to celebrate the 150th birthday of Knut Hamsun, who in 1943, during the height of WWII and the Nazi Holocaust, met with Hitler and gave his Nobel Prize in Literature to Nazi Propaganda Minister Goebbels. Many considered this pro-Nazi collaborator as a traitor to his people and the Wiesenthal Center has protested what appears to be a whitewash of history.
Source: Simon Wiesenthal Center press release
Norway, Israel and the Jews blog has been following this affair:
- Støre’s Faustian pact: Trine Lilleng and the Saudi Prince
- Trine Lilleng still in Riyadh - possibly promoted
- Trine Lilleng - asset or liability for Jonas Gahr Støre?
- Five months since AJC Called on Norway to Repudiate Trine Lilleng for Nazi Analogy
- California professor uses Trine Lilleng’s photographs
- Diplomatic envoy Trine Lilleng
Friday, 24 July 2009
Nina Witoszek: Europe has learned little from history
"The contemporary dream of Europe is concerned with a continent which, according to progressive philosophers and sociologists like Habermas or Beck, ought to be maximally tolerant and open. It is a Europe which hates war and desires to leave its demonic history behind. But this Europe worried Kolakowski because it reminded him of Switzerland and Sweden. Both countries have become idols of modernity due to their tolerant pacifism and wealth, which covered lies, cowardice and collaboration with the devil. And both were completely unable to resist the totalitarian evil of the Nazi-regime. They waited for the Americans, Russians, British and Poles to do the dirty work for them."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
When Nina Witoszek first arrived in Oslo, she was surprised at how much support the political left were willing to give the oppressive regime she had left behind in Poland. The poor woman was yet to learn exactly how deep the rabbit hole went. Now, years later, her insights and understanding makes her a key participant in debates on Norwegian society. Below, an unauthorised translation from Witoszek’s op-ed in today’s Aftenposten - Norway’s second largest daily:
_______________________
Protest: Why were the protests against the war in Gaza so much larger than the ones against the terror of Iran’s regime?
Europe has learned little from history
Nina Witoszek, professor and author
Leszek Kolakowski, an Oxford-philosopher and one of the wisest men on earth, used to say: "England is an island in Europe. Oxford is an island in England. All Souls College is an island in Oxford. And I am an island in All Souls." He died there on July 17, 81 years old.
For me he was less of an island and more of a lighthouse who has sent lifesaving light to those who are about to drown on the stormy seas of modernity. If Arne Næss was a philosopher behind the green bible of modernity, Kolakowski was the sharp anatomist of totalitarianism who revealed its fatal attraction. He started as a rabid Marxist at the university of Warsaw, but instead of dreaming about the final triumph of communism, he mercilessly analyzed its inevitable transformation from a beautiful vision to a bestial, de-civilizing project.
Expelled. After having been expelled from Poland for his "revisionism", he wrote The Main Current of Marxism (1972), the most brutal and brilliant detonation of Marxism in political philosophy. He was obsessed with the paradox of liberal society - its tendency to become its own enemy by tolerating forces which would destroy individual liberties.
The contemporary dream of Europe is concerned with a continent which, according to progressive philosophers and sociologists like Habermas or Beck, ought to be maximally tolerant and open. It is a Europe which hates war and desires to leave its demonic history behind.
But this Europe worried Kolakowski because it reminded him of Switzerland and Sweden. Both countries have become idols of modernity due to their tolerant pacifism and wealth, which covered lies, cowardice and collaboration with the devil. And both were completely unable to resist the totalitarian evil of the Nazi-regime. They waited for the Americans, Russians, British and Poles to do the dirty work for them.
This is then a Europe which has learned little from history and has become blind to the global advance of totalitarianism.
We saw how the war in Gaza last year led to violent demonstrations and hateful declarations against Israel. Six months later hundreds of demonstrators were killed or arrested in Teheran when they protested against the results of the Iranian presidential elections. There have hardly been any solidarity actions for the opposition to the newly elected totalitarian regime. Was this because the protests were discerned to be an internal Iranian affair?
Three explanations. I have three Kolakowski-inspired explanations for the tepid response of the European elites to Iran’s anti-authoritarian rebellion. One is that Europe’s progressive circles admire Islam a religion of poor underdogs, and Ahmadinejad is the king of the underdogs.
The other is that our pro-Islamic attitudes actually disguise an anti-Arabic (and anti-Persian) racism: maybe we expect nothing of "Muslim barbarians" in Palestine or Iran, while we demand from a besieged Israel a European tolerance for fanatical Islamists?
The third explanation is that our cultural elites might be continuing their romance with totalitarian leaders and movements. Maybe they do not cry out against Ahmadinejad because they perceive the Iranian rebellion against Imams as an expression of the bourgeois ideology of the middle classes? Maybe Ahmadinejad - the man who speaks openly of annihilating Israel - in fact is a beloved tyrant who has replaced Stalin or Hoxha?
What would Kolakowski have said? Today we need the clarifying light from his lonely island more than ever - but the light has gone out.
_______________________
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
When Nina Witoszek first arrived in Oslo, she was surprised at how much support the political left were willing to give the oppressive regime she had left behind in Poland. The poor woman was yet to learn exactly how deep the rabbit hole went. Now, years later, her insights and understanding makes her a key participant in debates on Norwegian society. Below, an unauthorised translation from Witoszek’s op-ed in today’s Aftenposten - Norway’s second largest daily:
_______________________
Protest: Why were the protests against the war in Gaza so much larger than the ones against the terror of Iran’s regime?
Europe has learned little from history
Nina Witoszek, professor and author
Leszek Kolakowski, an Oxford-philosopher and one of the wisest men on earth, used to say: "England is an island in Europe. Oxford is an island in England. All Souls College is an island in Oxford. And I am an island in All Souls." He died there on July 17, 81 years old.
For me he was less of an island and more of a lighthouse who has sent lifesaving light to those who are about to drown on the stormy seas of modernity. If Arne Næss was a philosopher behind the green bible of modernity, Kolakowski was the sharp anatomist of totalitarianism who revealed its fatal attraction. He started as a rabid Marxist at the university of Warsaw, but instead of dreaming about the final triumph of communism, he mercilessly analyzed its inevitable transformation from a beautiful vision to a bestial, de-civilizing project.
Expelled. After having been expelled from Poland for his "revisionism", he wrote The Main Current of Marxism (1972), the most brutal and brilliant detonation of Marxism in political philosophy. He was obsessed with the paradox of liberal society - its tendency to become its own enemy by tolerating forces which would destroy individual liberties.
The contemporary dream of Europe is concerned with a continent which, according to progressive philosophers and sociologists like Habermas or Beck, ought to be maximally tolerant and open. It is a Europe which hates war and desires to leave its demonic history behind.
But this Europe worried Kolakowski because it reminded him of Switzerland and Sweden. Both countries have become idols of modernity due to their tolerant pacifism and wealth, which covered lies, cowardice and collaboration with the devil. And both were completely unable to resist the totalitarian evil of the Nazi-regime. They waited for the Americans, Russians, British and Poles to do the dirty work for them.
This is then a Europe which has learned little from history and has become blind to the global advance of totalitarianism.
We saw how the war in Gaza last year led to violent demonstrations and hateful declarations against Israel. Six months later hundreds of demonstrators were killed or arrested in Teheran when they protested against the results of the Iranian presidential elections. There have hardly been any solidarity actions for the opposition to the newly elected totalitarian regime. Was this because the protests were discerned to be an internal Iranian affair?
Three explanations. I have three Kolakowski-inspired explanations for the tepid response of the European elites to Iran’s anti-authoritarian rebellion. One is that Europe’s progressive circles admire Islam a religion of poor underdogs, and Ahmadinejad is the king of the underdogs.
The other is that our pro-Islamic attitudes actually disguise an anti-Arabic (and anti-Persian) racism: maybe we expect nothing of "Muslim barbarians" in Palestine or Iran, while we demand from a besieged Israel a European tolerance for fanatical Islamists?
The third explanation is that our cultural elites might be continuing their romance with totalitarian leaders and movements. Maybe they do not cry out against Ahmadinejad because they perceive the Iranian rebellion against Imams as an expression of the bourgeois ideology of the middle classes? Maybe Ahmadinejad - the man who speaks openly of annihilating Israel - in fact is a beloved tyrant who has replaced Stalin or Hoxha?
What would Kolakowski have said? Today we need the clarifying light from his lonely island more than ever - but the light has gone out.
_______________________
Friday, 17 July 2009
Norwegian newspaper believes NGO report on IDF transgressions during “Cast Lead”
"So alas, no critical perspective on the NGO "Breaking the Silence", not a single critical comment on their report, nothing but same criticism of the IDF and the Israeli authorities which Aftenposten has treated her readers to since before the Gaza war."Yesterday several newspapers, among them Norway’s largest daily Verdens Gang, published paper - and internet articles on a recently published report from the Israeli NGO "Breaking The Silence". Today Aftenposten, Norway’s second largest newspaper, follows up on the NGO report with an article by journalist John Harb, as well as an editorial (see below for unauthorized translation). Both VG and Aftenposten repeat the salient features of the NGO report, without confronting the shortcomings and inadequaties of the report. Neither newspaper makes much of an attempt at producing a balanced story.
If Norwegian newspapers had wanted to, they could have identified a number of aspects both of the NGO and the report, which are relevant to how much weight the NGO’s report can be estimated to carry. On methodological issues alone the following have been pointed out, among others by NGO monitor:
"Methodological Flaws:
* The report focuses narrowly on the testimonies of around thirty combatants(out of hundreds of thousands in the IDF) and even Breaking the Silence admits thereport does not claim to provide a broad, comprehensive review.
* All testimonies recorded in the report are anonymous and therefore entirely unverifiable. It is also impossible to know whether the soldiers who are quoted had thenecessary knowledge to distinguish between different types of weapons and the circumstances in which they were used.
* Testimonies are further compromised by the absence of any details of where and when alleged incidents occurred.
* The report frequently relies upon second hand evidence and hearsay. E.g. Testimony 44: "As for looting I can say I heard but didn’t actually see anything. I can’t really prove anything…again, I wasn’t witness to such cases but I heard peopletalking, that soldiers shot at people here and there." [...]
So alas, no critical perspective on the NGO "Breaking the Silence", not a single critical comment on their report, nothing but same criticism of the IDF and the Israeli authorities which Aftenposten has treated her readers to since before the Gaza war. All this while Norway finances Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah and a host of Israeli-critical NGOs, all this while Norwegian newspapers write more about Israel than they do about Afghanistan, where Norway does not count the dead.
If there is antyhing which will not stand, it is the state of Norwegian journalism.
Read the full piece here (Norway, Israel and the Jews)
- Europeans funding 'Breaking the Silence'
- Shimon Peres: EU sympathy for Hamas diminishes chances of peace
- Norwegian NGO Funding: Boycotts and Apartheid Rhetoric instead of Peace and Coexistence
- The "riddle" of Knut Hamsun
- Norway does not count Afghan casualties
- Mads Gilbert: 80-90% of Cast Lead casualties were civilian
- Sri Lanka not as interesting as Gaza
Sunday, 5 July 2009
Incitement to hatred: how not to market Norwegian fjords
"One strongly distances oneself from Israel’s terrorism. The chosen people have started a new holocaust with the extermination of the Palestinians. Adolf Hitler’s ideology has now become the ideology of jews of Israel. Like most Norwegians one strongly distances oneself from Israel’s apartheid and its supporters."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog (anti-semitism and the anti-Israel lobby in Norway)
The site Oslooyene.no, which Document.no first wrote about quite some time ago, provides information on the islands in the Oslo fjord and contains photographs, historical facts and practical advice. The text in the mainframe of the page (see below for close-up) is highly appropriate to the mission of the site, saying:
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog (anti-semitism and the anti-Israel lobby in Norway)
Comparing Gaza to the Warsaw ghetto of WWII is an act of holocaust distortion. Among the prominent Norwegians who have indulged in this shameful act, in the very same year as Norway heads the Task Force of Holocaust Remembrance, are Mayor of Tromsø Arild Hausberg, Doctor Mads Gilbert and politician Torstein Dahle (Rødt-Red). With their prestige and prominence these individuals have opened up a moral abyss into which the ordinary man and women can gleefully and fearlessly jump. The first secretary at the Norwegian Embassy in Riyadh is one of them. The man behind the web-site above is another.
The site Oslooyene.no, which Document.no first wrote about quite some time ago, provides information on the islands in the Oslo fjord and contains photographs, historical facts and practical advice. The text in the mainframe of the page (see below for close-up) is highly appropriate to the mission of the site, saying:
"The Oslo-islands lie in the inner Oslo-fjord and consist of 11 larger islands and as many smaller ones. Many of these are owned by the municipality of Oslo and are managed as recreational areas. Two of the islands lie outside of the municipality of Oslo. These are Langøyene (Nesodden) and Håøya (Frogn). There are many suitable bathing places, historical buildings and large areas are listed as nature reserves."
So far, so good. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then comes a text marked in red. This is somewhat less usual fare:
"One strongly distances oneself from Israel’s terrorism. The chosen people have started a new holocaust with the extermination of the Palestinians. Adolf Hitler’s ideology has now become the ideology of Jews of Israel. Like most Norwegians one strongly distances oneself from Israel’s apartheid and its supporters."
If there exists a more repulsive site on the Oslo islands, we would very much like to see it. Mixing politics with information for tourists is bad enough. Going full Hausberg with a Gaza-Warsaw comparison is completely beyond the pale. Yet this is what happens. Prominent citizens lead, and the man in the street follows.
On the other hand, people like Hausberg, Gilbert, Dahle and their followers do not stand unopposed. After decades of aggressive "information-campaigns", many still refuse to take partake in Israel-bashing. In the face of aggressive boycott campaigns, trade with Israel was quite recently reported to have increased. This year, the main pro-Israel organization With Israel for peace reported a 40% increase in membership. And only last month 3500 Norwegians gathered in support of Israel and to call for the release of Gilad Shalit.
If you visit Norway as a tourist you will most probably not notice any anti-Israeli bias and sites such as Osloøyene.no make most Norwegians very angry. Yet Hausberg, Gilbert and Dale must be taken to task for their actions, before they seriously injure the reputation of our nation. It can’t continue like this.
On the other hand, people like Hausberg, Gilbert, Dahle and their followers do not stand unopposed. After decades of aggressive "information-campaigns", many still refuse to take partake in Israel-bashing. In the face of aggressive boycott campaigns, trade with Israel was quite recently reported to have increased. This year, the main pro-Israel organization With Israel for peace reported a 40% increase in membership. And only last month 3500 Norwegians gathered in support of Israel and to call for the release of Gilad Shalit.
If you visit Norway as a tourist you will most probably not notice any anti-Israeli bias and sites such as Osloøyene.no make most Norwegians very angry. Yet Hausberg, Gilbert and Dale must be taken to task for their actions, before they seriously injure the reputation of our nation. It can’t continue like this.
Monday, 22 June 2009
Knut Hamsun: row over Norway honor for pro-Nazi Nobel laureate
"Far worse than these ageing sins of a beloved madman are the anti-Semitic incidents which we see in contemporary Norway. And equally bad - the growing consciousness of how Israel is regularly demonized by prominent Norwegians for no good reason whatsoever. This site says Knut Hamsun be damned, he is of no political significance. But oh Lord, do give us newspapermen who are able to cover the Middle East in an adult and proper manner."Source: article in Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has published an article under the title "Row grows over Norway honor for pro-Nazi Nobel laureate". We are of course talking about Knut Hamsun, the "from rags to riches" author who in the winter of his life cast his lot in with Adolf Hitler, about whom he wrote an obituary on the eve of Nazi-Germany’s defeat. In his article Haaretz journalist Cnaan Liphshiz quotes among others an analyst for the Anti-Defamation League:
"No government should honor Nazis, their collaborators or their sympathizers," said Carole Nuriel, an analyst for the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL drafted a statement on Norway in consultation with the country’s Jewish community, noting that in the framework of commemoration, the Norwegian government was "highlighting Hamsun’s moral failure, not downplaying it."
On the other hand Bjørn Svenungsen from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry emphasizes how:
… honoring Hamsun is "a commemoration of one of Norway’s most important authors." He said all parties involved have criticized Hamsun’s Nazi past. The celebration is "a tribute to Hamsun’s role in European literature, not an acceptance of his political views," Svenungsen added. "The event is also used to remember the massive criticism of Hamsun after the 1945 liberation."
Nazi collaborator and great author
The issue of Hamsun - Nazi collaborator and great author - was quite recently covered in the New York Times as well. On February 27th, 2009, Walter Gibbs (Norwegian Nobel Laureate…) included the following quotes:
"Hamsun wrote great novels, but they are completely overshadowed by his behavior as a Hitler lackey," said Jo Benkow, 84, a former president of the Norwegian parliament. "At least for my generation, it’s outrageous to give more honors. He won the Nobel Prize in 1920. That should be enough."
In Gibbs’ article, Jo Benkow is countered by a famous Norwegian Hamsun biogropher:
"We can’t help loving him, though we have hated him all these years," said Ingar Sletten Kolloen, author of "Dreamer & Dissenter," a Hamsun biography. "That’s our Hamsun trauma. He’s a ghost that won’t stay in the grave."
In response to the recent Haaretz article, several Norwegian newspapers have today run the NTB (Norwegian News Agency) article "Jewish criticism of Hamsun celebration" (Jødisk kritikk av Hamsun-markering).
In the end, all three of the abovementioned articles are the same. Is it at all possible to celebrate an author who sympathised with the Nazi-regime ? The only new voice worthwhile of comment is Manfred Gerstenfeld of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, quoted both in the Haeretz and NTB article, who claims that the national celebration of Knut Hamsun is just "the tip of the iceberg". This is the correct take on the issue of Hamsun. Like a score of other incidents and events which have taken place in Norway lately, this matter of Hamsun is, in isolation, not of such tremendous importance. Knut Hamsun was mad as a hatter, what do you expect of him?
Far worse than these ageing sins of a beloved madman are the anti-Semitic incidents which we see in contemporary Norway. And equally bad - the growing consciousness of how Israel is regularly demonized by prominent Norwegians for no good reason whatsoever.
This site says Knut Hamsun be damned, he is of no political significance. But oh Lord, do give us newspapermen who are able to cover the Middle East in an adult and proper manner.
Friday, 12 June 2009
Al Haq: Europe funding anti-Israeli NGO
"Al Haq is a leader in the NGO "lawfare" and BDS movement (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) against Israel. The NGO’s funders include many European governments, NGOs, and international foundations, (Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Christian Aid, Diakonia, Ford Foundation, Open Society Institute)." NGO Monitor: Al Haq-supported Lawfare in Canada
On July 8, 2008, the Bil’in Village Council, with the assistance of the Palestinian NGO "Al Haq", filed suit in Quebec against three Canadian corporations involved in construction projects in the town of Kiryat Sefer (Modi’in Ilit) in Israel. The village council and Al Haq claim that these corporations “are aiding, abetting, assisting and conspiring with Israel, the Occupying Power in the West Bank, in carrying out an illegal act” and acting in violation of the Geneva Conventions. A preliminary hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for the end of June 2009. This case is one of a series initiated by Al Haq as part of its strategy to exploit Western courts for political goals ("lawfare"). Al Haq has also filed two suits (2006 and 2009) against British government officials to stop weapons sales to Israel. The 2006 suit was dismissed, and the 2009 suit is pending, but will likely be dismissed as well.
The Bil’in Village Council is also represented by Israeli attorney and political activist Michael Sfard. He is the legal advisor for the NGO known as Yesh Din, is on the legal team for Al-Haq’s Shawan Jabarin (see below), as well as for Peace Now and other groups.
.
Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP – no formal relationship with Medical Aid for Palestinians) is using its tax-exempt status to solicit donations to “finance[e] a legal fund to fight the court case.” MAP receives funding from CIDA (click "donations") and from the Quebec Secretariat for International Aid (click “donations”). The organization also signed the original Palestinian Civil Society call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel in 2005 (#65). Additionally, Orna Ben-Naftali, an executive board member of B’Tselem, contributed an "Expert Report and Opinion" in support of the lawsuit.
.
Background on Al Haq:
Al Haq is a leader in the NGO "lawfare" and BDS movement (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) against Israel. The NGO’s funders include many European governments, NGOs, and international foundations, (Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Christian Aid, Diakonia, Ford Foundation, Open Society Institute).
.Al Haq is a leader in the NGO "lawfare" and BDS movement (boycotts, divestment and sanctions) against Israel. The NGO’s funders include many European governments, NGOs, and international foundations, (Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Christian Aid, Diakonia, Ford Foundation, Open Society Institute).
Read the full NGO Monitor Report here
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Norway: observations of a Jewish mother
"The indifference is equally surprising and upsetting. During the war in Gaza Hamas’ leader encouraged the killing of all Jews in the entire world. This was also broadcast here in Norway. I thought that important politicians or ministers would stand up and condemn these threats against one of this nation’s small minorities. I actually thought it would be a matter of course. For no ethnic group in the world "has made itself deserving" of extermination even though one may disagree with them. As far as I know there was no clear publicity about this either on the television, the radio or the press. Our own mayor was silent."
An unauthorized translation of a reader’s letter to Norway’s largest daily, Verdens Gang, printed in the paper edition on May 31st. No link to VG available as of today [June 1st].
"Elie Wiesel has made profound statements about the consequences of hatred and indifference. He warns against precisely this. In a democratic country such as Norway where human rights are constantly on the agenda I thought that we Jews would be safe.
I have not let myself be scared by the those who have warned that history may repeat itself. I am by nature an optimist. But after this winter’s events in the Middle East I am no longer as certain and secure anymore. Hatred against Jews all over the world, also in Norway, scares me.
It has among other ways been expressed through demonstrations, headings in the media and from certain politicians. The indifference is equally surprising and upsetting. During the war in Gaza Hamas’ leader encouraged the killing of all Jews in the entire world. This was also broadcast here in Norway. I thought that important politicians or ministers would stand up and condemn these threats against one of this nation’s small minorities. I actually thought it would be a matter of course. For no ethnic group in the world "has made itself deserving" of extermination even though one may disagree with them. As far as I know there was no clear publicity about this either on the television, the radio or the press. Our own mayor was silent.
In 1942 when the Jews were assembled and deported there were allegedly few or none who knew what was happening. This excuse is not valid today. The incitement to kill Jews has been made loud and clear. A lack of response to this is a sort of acceptance. Certain members of our community have also received death threats. Security in and around the synagogue has been strengthened. During the war in the Middle East it was with a heavy heart that I parted from my family every morning in order to go to work. I was fearful of potential people discovering who they were for thereafter to act in accordance with the incitement from the leader of Hamas. This was a tough time for us all and especially our children who now are youths. Much of the security they had felt earlier had gone, and they experienced the situation as very straining.
Some months have now passed since the war in Gaza, and the situation is apparently calm. In spite of this, there are cracks in my security and faith in those who govern this nation. But I hope with all my heart that those who believe history may repeat itself are wrong.
A mother."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews
An unauthorized translation of a reader’s letter to Norway’s largest daily, Verdens Gang, printed in the paper edition on May 31st. No link to VG available as of today [June 1st].
"Elie Wiesel has made profound statements about the consequences of hatred and indifference. He warns against precisely this. In a democratic country such as Norway where human rights are constantly on the agenda I thought that we Jews would be safe.
I have not let myself be scared by the those who have warned that history may repeat itself. I am by nature an optimist. But after this winter’s events in the Middle East I am no longer as certain and secure anymore. Hatred against Jews all over the world, also in Norway, scares me.
It has among other ways been expressed through demonstrations, headings in the media and from certain politicians. The indifference is equally surprising and upsetting. During the war in Gaza Hamas’ leader encouraged the killing of all Jews in the entire world. This was also broadcast here in Norway. I thought that important politicians or ministers would stand up and condemn these threats against one of this nation’s small minorities. I actually thought it would be a matter of course. For no ethnic group in the world "has made itself deserving" of extermination even though one may disagree with them. As far as I know there was no clear publicity about this either on the television, the radio or the press. Our own mayor was silent.
In 1942 when the Jews were assembled and deported there were allegedly few or none who knew what was happening. This excuse is not valid today. The incitement to kill Jews has been made loud and clear. A lack of response to this is a sort of acceptance. Certain members of our community have also received death threats. Security in and around the synagogue has been strengthened. During the war in the Middle East it was with a heavy heart that I parted from my family every morning in order to go to work. I was fearful of potential people discovering who they were for thereafter to act in accordance with the incitement from the leader of Hamas. This was a tough time for us all and especially our children who now are youths. Much of the security they had felt earlier had gone, and they experienced the situation as very straining.
Some months have now passed since the war in Gaza, and the situation is apparently calm. In spite of this, there are cracks in my security and faith in those who govern this nation. But I hope with all my heart that those who believe history may repeat itself are wrong.
A mother."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews
Monday, 1 June 2009
Norway: Mosque visited by Queen connected to Jamaat-e-Islami
The imam who on Monday received a visit from queen Sonja herself, has participated in the blessing of suicide actions targeting all adult Israelis. Mehboob-ur-Rehman is an imam in the Islamic Cultural Center, which this week received a celebrity from the royal family, in connection with the opening of an art exhibition.
Rehman is an honorary member of the European Fatwa Council, which as late as in 2003 declared a fatwa stating that suicide actions are actions which "please Allah" and that all adult Israelis are legitimate targets.
"The acts of martyrdom which the Palestinians carry out in their resistance fight against the Zionist occupation may not be reckoned as illegal terrorism, even though there should be innocent civilians among the victims" the fatwa declares, according to the London-based Arab newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Read the whole piece here
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews
-------------------------------------------
The Islamic Cultural Center mosque has never hidden where they get their ideological inspiration: from Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, an organization considered to be an extreme group on the extremist side of the religious and political landscape.
When the Norwegian royal family wanted to visit a Muslim community in Norway for the first time ever on Monday, they chose the Islamic Cultural Center. It's unclear if Queen Sonja was aware of the links between the Islamic Cultural Center in Oslo and religious extremist groups in Pakistan.
Spokesperson at the palace Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen says that the Queen was there after having received an invitation to open an exhibition, and added that generally that Royal family doesn't comment on the reasons for their appearances.
Per Sandberg, Deputy head of the Frp (Progress Party), thinks the royal family can naturally visit whomever they want. But, he says, he would have wished the queen didn't legitimize a mosque with radical attitudes. She could have visited a mosque with moderate points of view. It's a paradox that so many Muslims in Norway follow radical movements within Islam after they come to Norway.
Laila Bokhari, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, says that Jamaat-e-Islami is a fundamentalist and conservative movement. One of the movement's top leaders, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, is, at best, unclear about his attitude towards al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, according to Bokhari. Ahmad was invited by the Islamic Cultural Center in Oslo in 2004 to give a speech.
Fahrat Taj, originally from Pakistan, is writing a doctoral dissertation on human rights and Islam. She say that the Islamic Cultural Center, via its ideological links to Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, puts itself on the fundamentalist wing. Taj says that in Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami is considered to have connections with al-Qaida. It's typical that Jamaat-e-Islami is now one of three political groups who don't support the army's operations against extremism in the Swat area.
According to the Pakistani press, around 1990 Qazi Hussain Ahmad has several meetings with bin Laden. After the terror attack against the US on September 11, 2001, he said the Jews were responsible. When one of the top leaders of al-Qaeda, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, was arrested in 2003, he was found in the home of then important member of Jamaat-e-Islami. Several experts consulted by Aftenposten emphasize, however, that Jamaat-e-Islami was never a part of bin Laden's terrorist network.
Mehboob ur-Rehman, an imam at the Islamic Cultural Center, sits on the European Fatwa Council headed by Egytpian Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Earlier this year al-Qaradawi congratulated Adolf Hitler for punishing the Jews during WWII.
Read the whole piece here
Source: Aftenposten (Norwegian) and Islam in Europe (English)
See also:
- Norway: Islamic Council rejects Qaradawi
- Oslo: Queen visits mosque
- Oslo: Imam blames 9/11 on US in college lecture
Rehman is an honorary member of the European Fatwa Council, which as late as in 2003 declared a fatwa stating that suicide actions are actions which "please Allah" and that all adult Israelis are legitimate targets.
"The acts of martyrdom which the Palestinians carry out in their resistance fight against the Zionist occupation may not be reckoned as illegal terrorism, even though there should be innocent civilians among the victims" the fatwa declares, according to the London-based Arab newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.
Read the whole piece here
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews
-------------------------------------------
The Islamic Cultural Center mosque has never hidden where they get their ideological inspiration: from Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, an organization considered to be an extreme group on the extremist side of the religious and political landscape.
When the Norwegian royal family wanted to visit a Muslim community in Norway for the first time ever on Monday, they chose the Islamic Cultural Center. It's unclear if Queen Sonja was aware of the links between the Islamic Cultural Center in Oslo and religious extremist groups in Pakistan.
Spokesperson at the palace Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen says that the Queen was there after having received an invitation to open an exhibition, and added that generally that Royal family doesn't comment on the reasons for their appearances.
Per Sandberg, Deputy head of the Frp (Progress Party), thinks the royal family can naturally visit whomever they want. But, he says, he would have wished the queen didn't legitimize a mosque with radical attitudes. She could have visited a mosque with moderate points of view. It's a paradox that so many Muslims in Norway follow radical movements within Islam after they come to Norway.
Laila Bokhari, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, says that Jamaat-e-Islami is a fundamentalist and conservative movement. One of the movement's top leaders, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, is, at best, unclear about his attitude towards al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, according to Bokhari. Ahmad was invited by the Islamic Cultural Center in Oslo in 2004 to give a speech.
Fahrat Taj, originally from Pakistan, is writing a doctoral dissertation on human rights and Islam. She say that the Islamic Cultural Center, via its ideological links to Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan, puts itself on the fundamentalist wing. Taj says that in Pakistan Jamaat-e-Islami is considered to have connections with al-Qaida. It's typical that Jamaat-e-Islami is now one of three political groups who don't support the army's operations against extremism in the Swat area.
According to the Pakistani press, around 1990 Qazi Hussain Ahmad has several meetings with bin Laden. After the terror attack against the US on September 11, 2001, he said the Jews were responsible. When one of the top leaders of al-Qaeda, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, was arrested in 2003, he was found in the home of then important member of Jamaat-e-Islami. Several experts consulted by Aftenposten emphasize, however, that Jamaat-e-Islami was never a part of bin Laden's terrorist network.
Mehboob ur-Rehman, an imam at the Islamic Cultural Center, sits on the European Fatwa Council headed by Egytpian Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Earlier this year al-Qaradawi congratulated Adolf Hitler for punishing the Jews during WWII.
Read the whole piece here
Source: Aftenposten (Norwegian) and Islam in Europe (English)
See also:
- Norway: Islamic Council rejects Qaradawi
- Oslo: Queen visits mosque
- Oslo: Imam blames 9/11 on US in college lecture
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Israel boycott calls: one Norwegian gets it right
"The difference between Burma and Israel is that in Burma the opposition sits in jail, in Israel it sits in parliament."
Israel, Burma and the boycott campaign
Even as the anti-Israel lobby is mustering for boycott, the average Norwegian is increasingly questioning the wisdom of singeling Israel out for critizism. One enlightened reader of Dabladet, a Norwegian daily, writes in a letter which is as short as it is eloquent:
"Imports of processed wood from Burma has increased by 67 percent in one year. This does not bother the Boycott-Israel-party SV (The Socialist Left). The difference between Burma and Israel is that in Burma the opposition sits in jail, in Israel it sits in parliament."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews
- Union leader mentions ONE SPECIFIC country in speech
- Trade union confederation opens for boycott of Israel
Israel, Burma and the boycott campaign
Even as the anti-Israel lobby is mustering for boycott, the average Norwegian is increasingly questioning the wisdom of singeling Israel out for critizism. One enlightened reader of Dabladet, a Norwegian daily, writes in a letter which is as short as it is eloquent:
"Imports of processed wood from Burma has increased by 67 percent in one year. This does not bother the Boycott-Israel-party SV (The Socialist Left). The difference between Burma and Israel is that in Burma the opposition sits in jail, in Israel it sits in parliament."
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews
- Union leader mentions ONE SPECIFIC country in speech
- Trade union confederation opens for boycott of Israel
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
On Norwegian Jewry, by Tom Segev
"A doctoral dissertation on the subject by historian Bjarte Bruland contains details about the property of a woman - who was murdered at Auschwitz along with her children - restoration of which was held up because it was impossible to establish in what order the children had been put in the gas chamber, and therefore it was not clear from a legal standpoint who inherited what.""In the history of the Jewish people, 2,000 Norwegian Jews merit no more than a footnote, but an exhibition now showing at Beth Hatefutsoth Diaspora museum in Tel Aviv presents their story as a microcosm, a window onto the vagaries of fate that befell all European Jews.
Up until 1851 Jews were not allowed to live in Norway, by dint of the second clause in the country's constitution, which also barred Jesuits and monks from migrating there. Once the ban was repealed, Eastern European Jews made their way to Norway; most of them actually wanted to go to America, but did not have the money to get that far. They tried - with great difficulty - to assimilate into local culture and become Norwegian patriots. A few posed for photographs dressed in the Norwegian army uniform; one kept the flag that was sewn on to the sleeve of his uniform when he played for the national soccer team.
Their story, as displayed in Beth Hatefutsoth, ranges from a 1920 notebook, attesting to the fact that a boy named David Fein made great effort to learn the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, to anti-Semitic posters that were pasted up around towns.
During World War II, the pro-Nazi government of Vidkun Quisling confiscated the property of all the country's Jews, and the Germans deported nearly 800 of them to death camps. The catalog for the exhibition, held under the auspices of the Royal Norwegian Embassy to Israel, states that about a decade ago, Norway became the first country to complete the process of restoring property and paying compensation to Jews for their losses and suffering caused during the Nazi occupation.
Beneath this diplomatic phrasing lies a half-century of abuse. Like the Swiss, the Norwegians prevented the restoration of many Jews' property by means of all kinds of regulations and bureaucratic trickery.
A doctoral dissertation on the subject by historian Bjarte Bruland contains details about the property of a woman - who was murdered at Auschwitz along with her children - restoration of which was held up because it was impossible to establish in what order the children had been put in the gas chamber, and therefore it was not clear from a legal standpoint who inherited what.
A few hundred Jews live in Norway today. These include ex-Israelis, members of kibbutzim who moved there when the female volunteers they met here returned home."
Source: Haaretz
Exhibition: Wergeland's Legacy, Beth Hatefutsoth, the Museum of the Jewish People
Norway: The Courage of a Small Jewish Community; Holocaust Restitution and Anti-Semitism, Interview with Bjarte Bruland and Irene Levin (JCPA)
On present day Norway, see:
Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Norway's F.M. Jonas Gahr Støre and the tactics of Israeli diplomacy
"There is something slightly troubling over this anecdote. Can we reasonable suspect that Israeli ambassadors would establish a tactic of regularly accusing their host nations of being Europe’s most anti-Israeli country? And why, in a book of 342 pages, does Støre only make such an observation of Israel ?"Discrediting and poking fun at Israel has become a European speciality.
Source: piece in Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
"Jonas Gahr Støre [photo] is Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. In November 2008 he published a book on Norway’s foreign policy - "Making a difference" (Å gjøre en forskjell, Cappelen Damm). On page 136 in the chapter "The Middle East" he writes the following (unauthorised translations):
"During my first meeting with Israel’s ambassador to Norway, Myriam Shomrat, the Israeli message was clear: Norway is the country with the strongest anti-Israeli attitudes in Europe. I stood in doubt and wondered about the analysis. Some months later I discussed the Middle East with my Irish colleague in Dublin. I quoted the Israeli ambassador. "That must be wrong,” said the Irishman, “The Israeli ambassador here in this country says that Ireland is the worst!". I think others have received the message."
There is something slightly troubling over this anecdote. Can we reasonable suspect that Israeli ambassadors would establish a tactic of regularly accusing their host nations of being Europe’s most anti-Israeli country? And why, in a book of 342 pages, does Støre only make such an observation of Israel ? Be that as it may, visit Wikipedia’s section on Støre and you find the following:
"He also makes an amusing revelation of Israeli diplomatic tactics in Europe. In her first meeting with Støre the Israeli ambassador Myriam Shomrat stated that Norway is the country with the strongest anti-Israel attitudes in Europe. Støre doubted this, and talked about it with his Irish colleague in Dublin. He could tell of how Israel’s ambassador had said precisely the same thing about Ireland."
It is unfortunate that Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs be quoted in this fashion. One of the salient features of Wikipedia is that it allows users to edit its contents. This site proposes that Støre makes use of this feature as soon as possible."
- Gry Larsen, political adviser to Norwegian FM, no friend of Israel
- Norway NGO funding: boycotts and apartheid rhetoric instead of peace and coexistence
- Norway's pro-Israel opposition leader under 24-hour guard
- Norwegian envoy equates Israel with Nazis
- For Norwegian F.M. Europe much too lenient with Israel
- Norway Funding PA Hate Media
- Norway says it has severed Hamas ties
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Gry Larsen, political adviser to Norwegian FM, no friend of Israel
"[Prime Minister Kjell Magne] Bondevik ought to be conscious of the fact that he has invited a war-criminal [Ariel Sharon]." (Gry Larsen, political adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2003)
Unfortunately, this type of rabid anti-Israeli stance and obsession is common among the political classes in Europe.
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
Archive: 2006 article in Dagbladet on Gry Larsen, political adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Here is an unauthorized translation from Dagbladet on January 8th 2006. Observe that following the conflict the article covers, adviser Gry Larsen retracted her support for a boycott of Israel and toed the official party line.
"Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre’s closest adviser Gry Larsen, wanted to bring Ariel Sharon to trial for war-crimes. She still leads AUF which wants a full boycott of Israel. Støre refuses to comment upon the case. (Gunnar Thorenfeldt)
It is not only SV (Socialst Left) which desires a boycott of Israeli goods. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre’s political adviser, Gry Larsen, leads an organisation which supports boycott of Israel and believes Ariel Sharon is guilty of war-crimes.
Arbeiderpartiet’s (Labour’s) youth-wing, AUF, have for many years been part of the Boycott Israel campaign. Additionally it is part of the interntaional Tear down the wall campaign and is a member of the Norwegian Association of NGO’s for Palestine.
AUF-leader Gry Larsen has previously stated that she wants to see Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon brought to trail for war-crimes.
On June 16th 2003 Gry Larsen held an appeal outside of the Parliament under the parole "Bring Ariel Sharon to trial for war-crimes". The Prime Minister at the time, Kjell Magne Bondevik, had invited Israel’s Prime Minster to Molde, which Larsen reacted strongly to.
- Israel has occupied Palestine, they bear the main responsibility for the conflict. Bondevik ought to be conscious of the fact that he has invited a war-criminal, Larsen stated to Dagbladet.
Israel expelled Larsen
In 2003 Larsen was declared an enemy of the state of Israel. When she attempted to visit Israel in 2003 she was stopped at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. After lengthy interrogations and examinations of her luggage, she and another AUF-member was denied entry to Israel on grounds of being a threat to security.
- I was sent home, treated as if I were a terrorist, says Larsen to Dagbladet about the episode. Later the declaration was withdrawn by the Israeli state.
An occupying force
Today Larsen is political adviser to Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre. But she is also leader of AUF. And the organisation Larsen leads has a clear message.
- We look upon Israel as an occupying force, says AUF’s deputy leader Martin Henriksen to Dagbladet.
The organisation still believes Sharon is a war-criminal.
- We believe that the background for the statement is still correct, says Henriksen. He encourages the government to be more critical towards Israel.
- We believe the Israelis are violating the Palestinians. Therefore I hope that the government manages to balance its desire for a dialogue and is critical when this is needed, says Henriksen.- AUF not aloneStøre has earlier this week critisized SV’s Minister of Finance harshly for wanting to boycott Israel. But he will not critisize his closest political adviser.
- Støre does not desire to comment upon this, says information adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cathrine Andersen.
Larsen was yesterday not accessible for comments as she presently is in the Antarctic. Also the youth wings of the Socialist Left and the Norwegian Centre Pary have supported a boycott of Israeli goods the last four years. But now the youth wing of the Center party says they will reassess the issue.
- We have previously encouraged people not to buy Israeli products, but now we will reassess the issue, says leader of the Centre Party youth wing, Erlend Fuglum, to Dagbladet. He says their reassessment has nothing to do with the conflict over the last few days."
For more on Norway, please visit the invaluable Norway, Israel and the Jews blog (Anti-semitism and the anti-Israel lobby in Norway)
- Norway NGO funding: boycotts and apartheid rhetoric instead of peace and coexistence
- Norway's pro-Israel opposition leader under 24-hour guard
- Norwegian envoy equates Israel with Nazis
- For Norwegian F.M. Europe much too lenient with Israel
- Norway Funding PA Hate Media
- Norway says it has severed Hamas ties
Unfortunately, this type of rabid anti-Israeli stance and obsession is common among the political classes in Europe.
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog
Archive: 2006 article in Dagbladet on Gry Larsen, political adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Here is an unauthorized translation from Dagbladet on January 8th 2006. Observe that following the conflict the article covers, adviser Gry Larsen retracted her support for a boycott of Israel and toed the official party line.
"Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre’s closest adviser Gry Larsen, wanted to bring Ariel Sharon to trial for war-crimes. She still leads AUF which wants a full boycott of Israel. Støre refuses to comment upon the case. (Gunnar Thorenfeldt)
It is not only SV (Socialst Left) which desires a boycott of Israeli goods. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre’s political adviser, Gry Larsen, leads an organisation which supports boycott of Israel and believes Ariel Sharon is guilty of war-crimes.
Arbeiderpartiet’s (Labour’s) youth-wing, AUF, have for many years been part of the Boycott Israel campaign. Additionally it is part of the interntaional Tear down the wall campaign and is a member of the Norwegian Association of NGO’s for Palestine.
AUF-leader Gry Larsen has previously stated that she wants to see Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon brought to trail for war-crimes.
On June 16th 2003 Gry Larsen held an appeal outside of the Parliament under the parole "Bring Ariel Sharon to trial for war-crimes". The Prime Minister at the time, Kjell Magne Bondevik, had invited Israel’s Prime Minster to Molde, which Larsen reacted strongly to.
- Israel has occupied Palestine, they bear the main responsibility for the conflict. Bondevik ought to be conscious of the fact that he has invited a war-criminal, Larsen stated to Dagbladet.
Israel expelled Larsen
In 2003 Larsen was declared an enemy of the state of Israel. When she attempted to visit Israel in 2003 she was stopped at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. After lengthy interrogations and examinations of her luggage, she and another AUF-member was denied entry to Israel on grounds of being a threat to security.
- I was sent home, treated as if I were a terrorist, says Larsen to Dagbladet about the episode. Later the declaration was withdrawn by the Israeli state.
An occupying force
Today Larsen is political adviser to Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre. But she is also leader of AUF. And the organisation Larsen leads has a clear message.
- We look upon Israel as an occupying force, says AUF’s deputy leader Martin Henriksen to Dagbladet.
The organisation still believes Sharon is a war-criminal.
- We believe that the background for the statement is still correct, says Henriksen. He encourages the government to be more critical towards Israel.
- We believe the Israelis are violating the Palestinians. Therefore I hope that the government manages to balance its desire for a dialogue and is critical when this is needed, says Henriksen.- AUF not aloneStøre has earlier this week critisized SV’s Minister of Finance harshly for wanting to boycott Israel. But he will not critisize his closest political adviser.
- Støre does not desire to comment upon this, says information adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cathrine Andersen.
Larsen was yesterday not accessible for comments as she presently is in the Antarctic. Also the youth wings of the Socialist Left and the Norwegian Centre Pary have supported a boycott of Israeli goods the last four years. But now the youth wing of the Center party says they will reassess the issue.
- We have previously encouraged people not to buy Israeli products, but now we will reassess the issue, says leader of the Centre Party youth wing, Erlend Fuglum, to Dagbladet. He says their reassessment has nothing to do with the conflict over the last few days."
For more on Norway, please visit the invaluable Norway, Israel and the Jews blog (Anti-semitism and the anti-Israel lobby in Norway)
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