Finnish parliament speaker recalls anti-Semitic attack

Not surprisingly in a country where Jews make up less than 0.03 percent of the population, Jewish issues do not feature prominently in local politics.  “As an MP during these 32 years I have rarely been confronted with issues related with Jews and Jewishness but of course the situation in the Middle East is always present,” he said.

Jerusalem Post, article by Gil Schefler

Ben Zysowicz, Finland's first Jewish lawmaker, tells of assault and anti-Semitic insults.

In a country like Finland, where the Jewish community of 1,500 people makes up a tiny percentage of a population of 5.4 million, anti-Semitic incidents are rare, which is why the recent attack on the Jewish speaker of the parliament was so unusual.

Ben Zyscowicz, the country’s first Jewish lawmaker, was walking home the Wednesday before last after a round of late-night political negotiations when he was suddenly assaulted by a stranger.

“I was walking with a friend in the city very late in the evening when a man who was clearly under the influence of alcohol came toward me,” he told The Jerusalem Post by phone on Friday. “He tried to hit me and he only managed to touch me on one shoulder. He also shouted insults to me based on the fact that I’m a Jew.

“After that I called the police and they took care of him. The insults continued and it became very clear he wasn’t fond of my politics, my party and also of Jews.”

The 57-year-old member of the National Coalition Party was not hurt and said he did not plan to file a complaint.  He said hate crimes against Jews in his country were uncommon.  In his long career as a politician he had received the occasional anti- Semitic letter. He had been physically attacked twice before, but not because he was a Jew. “This is very, very rare that this happens,” he said.

Zyscowicz, the son of a survivor of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp who emigrated from Poland and a Finnish-born Jewish woman, has never had to hide his Judaism. He grew up in a Jewish home in Helsinki observing religious holidays and received a Jewish education for nine years at the local Hebrew school before entering politics as an adult. [...]
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Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews (Book review: Behind the Humanitarian Mask)
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).

Exposing anti-Israel political activities of German NGO Medico Int'l and BtS

"The German Foreign Ministry – as with other European foreign ministries – should more closely monitor and evaluate how its funding to various NGOs is actually utilized. Groups that receive Foreign Ministry funding should not utilize it in a manner that contradicts the official policies of the government or contradicts the NGOs’ own stated mission and principles."

Source: Jerusalem Post (German NGO Medico International funded Breaking the Silence book presentation in Ramallah where Israeli audiences cannot attend)

BERLIN – Controversy is swirling around the German NGO Medico International for its financial support of the Israel-based NGO Breaking the Silence, including its support for a planned – but subsequently canceled – book presentation on Tuesday in Ramallah.

Prof. Gerald Steinberg, the president of the Jerusalem-based human rights watchdog organization, NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post before the cancellation that, “This specific event in Ramallah – funded by a German NGO – highlights Breaking the Silence’s facade. The organization presents itself as a grassroots NGO, directed towards Israeli audiences, but many of its events take place outside of Israel, using funding from European governments and the New Israel Fund.

RELATED:New provocative photos of IDF soldiers on Facebook 
Israel targets foreign gov't NGO funds 


Even the name itself is misleading – there is rigorous debate in Israel about IDF actions, and there certainly is no ‘silence’ about Israel to break in Ramallah.”

Medico International, a health-services provider, was listed as a sponsor of Breaking the Silence’s book presentation, according to a posting on the website of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA).

The AIDA website notice read: “Medico International has been a partner of Breaking the Silence since 2009, and we would be honored if you can come to the book presentation.”

Holland: comparing persecuted Jews in the 30s to Muslims today

"Yet if the main threat is revolutionary Islamism and the collapse of national identity, stability, and democracy, then Europe is in a lot of trouble."

Source: Barry Rubin (What's Happening in Europe: Holland As A Case Study on Islam and Israel). Excerpts:

"Another development in Europe, however, is rising antisemitism. Here's an article providing examples of both sympathetic and unsympathetic reactions on the issue by various Dutch figures.

Having reliable statistics at last regarding the number of Muslims in Europe also makes it timely to discuss that issue. The European left often argues that Muslims face imminent persecution and even massive repression. One of the more sophisticated versions of this theme comes from the Dutch Labor Party journalist and intellectual Geert Mak in one of the country's leading newspapers:  "No, in the comparison between Jews and Muslims it's not about deportation and mass-murder. It's about the beginning, about the 1930s, when Jews felt themselves excluded and when it was spoken about them as it is now about Muslims."

Yet how can one deal with this issue without noting the fact that Islamists who are Muslim have committed more than 10,000 terrorist attacks in the last two decades? Or the fact that in many mosques in the West, preachers systematically incite hatred for Jews and Christians? Or that a whole series of special privileges are demanded by local Muslim leaders that break the Western democratic tradition of equal treatment under law? Or that the overwhelmingly main cause of growing antisemitism in Europe comes from the Muslim sector of the population?

Needless to say, Jews in the 1930s weren't doing any of these things. There was not a single incident of violence by Jews against the Christian majority. While Jews were sometimes accused of religiously preaching hatred against Christians, those claims were always false. And far from asking for special privileges, most Jews were trying desperately to assimilate culturally while the rest only wanted to be left alone. If one ignores these differences it is impossible to understand the situation today.

Here's one little detail reported by the French press agency, AFP that provides an ironic example of the problem. A Lebanon-born Swedish citizen named Munir Awad was arrested in Somalia in 2007 and again in 2009 in Pakistan on suspicion of involvement in terrorism. The Swedish foreign ministry helped get him freed on both occasions. Awad expressed his gratitude. Now Awad has been again arrested--in Sweden--after participating in a plot to "kill as many people as possible" in an attack on a Danish newspaper that published cartoons he found objectionable.

Europe: antisemitism has entered the bloodstream

Antisemitism has entered the bloodstream, by Hans Rustad (via Norway, Israel and the Jews blog)

The revelation that Wikileaks’ contactpersons in Sweden and Russia are the notorious antisemite Israel Shamir and his son Johannes Wahlström, is an indication that antisemitism now has entered the bloodstream of the establishment.

For people outside of Europe this is very hard to fathom. It has to do with a much deeper development in Europe, one that should worry Americans. Europe is shifting, groping, undergoing a major transformation, and people within the media establishment are allowing extremists to play a role. That is because political correctness, as practised in Europe, dulls the senses and deprives people of normal reflexes. Extremists may enter the fray, unnoticed.

Under normal circumstances Wahlström would never have been given a second chance. He burned his bridges when he wrote an article for a leftist magazine, Ordfront, back in December 2005, alleging that Israel controls Swedish media. This in itself was not shocking. That is staple food on the left. What caused an uproar was that he cited two of Swedens most experienced and renowned Middle East correspondents, Peter Löfgren from Swedish Television, and Lotta Schüllerqvist from Dagens Nyheter. It was they who explained how Israel rules and manipulates and bullies Swedish editorial rooms and journalists. Except for one thing: they never said as much. It was all a lie. Wahlström invented the whole story. He met both of them, but never bothered to write down their real replies, instead he invented what he wanted them to say.

He used them cynically, arrogantly and one must say – stupidly. How could he possibly expect to get away with it? He did not of course. Both Löfgren and Lotta Schüllerqvist wrote scathing denounciations and the editor of Ordfront was obliged to retract.

Read the whole piece on Document.no

- Harry's Place has been following the Julian Assange/Israel Shamir connection

- Andrew Brown also wrote about the connection in The Guardian : WikiLeaks and Israel Shamir - WikiLeaks is represented in Russia and Scandinavia by a father and son team with a disturbing record of antisemitism

A new common European platform for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel (EPACBI)

In Europe pro-Israel and anti-Israel groups operate differently.  Pro-Israel groups operate on a national basis: if a nasty anti-Israel boycott campaign is run in Belgium or in France, pro-Israel groups in other European countries will not be interested.  Whereas anti-Israel groups operate at (1) national level, (2) intra-European level and/or at (3) international level.  A good example of this is the Russell Tribunal on Palestine which was initiated by a well respected Belgian, Pierre Galand, and has attracted people from all over the world.  The "Tribunal" was launched in Belgium without a single Jewish Belgian voice denouncing it (the reason being that they want exposure and it is better to keep a low profile - don't mention the problem and it will go away).  The Kangaroo court then went to Barcelona and there were a few local protests.  It is now having a session in London - a few UK blogs have objected (Harry's Place and Jewish Chronicle HERE, HERE and HERE), but nobody in France or Germany let alone in Belgium will be interested enough relay these protests. The Tribunal is scheduled to have session in South Africa and the U.S. (it will not end there) giving it a distinctively international imprint. Although this initiative may not amount to much, the cumulative effect of countless such Europe-wide initiatives should not be ignored. Many of these campaigns are funded by European governments and the European Union and there never seems to be any lack of funds to carry them out.

Paris Declaration of a European Platform for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (EPACBI)

French Mediapart gives the name of the organisers :

AKULBI : Akademisk og Kulturell Boikott av staten Israel (Norway)
AURDIP : Association des Universitaires pour le Respect du Droit International en Palestine (France)
BAB : Berlin Academic Boycott (Germany)
BRICUP : British Committee for Universities for Palestine (England)
CUNCAP : Comissió Universitària Catalana per Palestina (Catalonia)
ICACBI : Italian Campaign for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel (Italy)
PACBI : Palestinian campaign for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel (Palestine)
PSABI : Action Group at KTH for Boycott of Israel (Sweden)
Belgian and Dutch delegations were present at the launch of EPACBI (their website in 11 European languages ...).

"This declaration announces the establishment of a common European platform for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel. The national, regional and local organisations and movements adhering to this platform:

• Accept and promote the boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions and divestment from companies that contribute to Israel’s grave violations of international law and human rights;

'Theological intifada' against Israel run by Arab Palestinian Christian Naim Ateek

"The greatest problem with the Jews is yet not resolved, because most Jews do not want to go to Israel. There are still far more Jews outside of Israel than within Israel. Most of them did not want to go there, but the Zionists made them. Europe did not want them, so they sent them away, and at whose expense? The Palestinians. There are still Jews in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, they do not go to Israel. Some Jews immigrate to Germany, because it looks better to them than Israel. Then there is something wrong. Israel uses propaganda to entice Jews to move there, but most of the ones who would go, have gone there by now."

Note - for European consumption, the site of Friends of Sabeel-France only talks of love, justice, peace and prayer.  What a divine European hypocrisy.

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews (Supercessionist Palestinian theology develops market in Norway)

Is there a market for supercessionist Palestinian theology in Norway? Perhaps not, but there are elements in the Norwegian church who are trying hard to create one.

CAMERA (Naim Ateek Lets It All Hang Out in ... Norway!) has picked up on how Palestinian supercessionist Naim Ateek is being courted by Norwegian supporters. Unauthorized translation from the article “Runs theological intifada against Israel” from Norge IDAG on the theology of Naim Ateek:

Runs theological intifada against Israel
The Palestinian-arabic theologist Naim Ateek visited Norway last week in order to turn Christians against Israel by convincing them that the promises of land made in the Bible have been revoked, and that the Jews no longer are God’s chosen people. He believes the state of Israel ought never to have been established, and that is has become an apartheid state which ought to be boycotted.

Naim Ateek leads the Palestinian-arabic teheological grassroots organisation Sabeel, which has as its goal to further a just peace in the Middle East. He has developed a distinctive ”Palestinian liberation theology” which he actively uses in order to further pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel views to the christian west. In Israel some speak of Sabeel’s activities as a ”theological intifada”, and in a meeting with Norge I DAG Naim Ateek says he accepts this definition of his activity.

Donald Bostrom, Swedish Blood Libel Journalist Plans Visit to Israel

"Despite the blood libel, the National Federation of Algerian Journalists presented him with an award for excellence. Bostrom, in his acceptance speech, charged that 1,000 Arabs were victims of organ harvesting since 1960."

Source: article by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu in INN

A nationalist group has appealed to Interior Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) to prevent the entry of Swedish journalist Donald Bostrom, who spread the blood libel alleging that IDF soldiers sold organs of Arab terrorists. Bostrom published his allegations in August and is planning to arrive in Israel next month for the Dimona Conference in the Negev.

Im Tirtzu (If You Wish) wrote to the minister, "Everyone understands the difference between his poisonous anti-Semitic articles and freedom of expression" and knows that his articles "are a modern blood libel that recall the same form of anti-Semitism in Europe in the Middle Ages. Anyone who thinks this is freedom of expression should return to school learn history." The group asked Yishai "to take all possible measures to prevent this journalist... from stepping foot on the Land of Israel."

Last week, a media watchdog official wrote in The Wall Street Journal that Bostrom’s allegations "are ugly, false, and harmful to peace efforts." Andrea Levin, executive director of CAMERA, (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America), that Bostrom’s article in Aftonbladet, Sweden’s leading daily, "has quickly metastasized to mainstream Muslim media, spawning cartoons of Jews stealing body parts and drinking Arab blood. These have been published in Syria, Qatar, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, to name a few."

Last month, an Algerian newspaper claimed that gangs directed by Jews round up and smuggle Algerian children into Israel, where they sell their organs. Iranian Press TV reported, "An international Jewish conspiracy to kidnap children and harvest their organs is gathering momentum."

Levin noted that despite the blood libel, the National Federation of Algerian Journalists presented him with an award for excellence. Bostrom, in his acceptance speech, charged that 1,000 Arabs were victims of organ harvesting since 1960.

After Israeli officials and media harshly condemned the report by Bostrom, who admitted that his report was unconfirmed and based on unsubstantiated claims by Arabs in Judea and Samaria, Aftonbladet stated there was no evidence of the charges but still demanded an international inquiry.

However, Levin wrote, "Francis Delmonico, a Harvard surgeon and international transplant specialist who was quoted in the Aftonbladet article on the issue of organ theft in general, told me he found the Aftonbladet charges completely inconsistent with his extensive interaction with Israeli doctors…. Like many others, Dr. Delmonico noted that Mr. Bostrom's scenario in which Ghanem [an Arab] was supposedly shot before having his organs removed for trafficking was ‘not feasible from a surgical vantage.’" Ghanem’s family refuted several "facts" that Bostrom wrote in his original accusations.

- Anatomy of a Swedish Blood Libel - Allegations of Israeli organ theft are ugly, false, harmful—and they spread, Andrea Levin, WSJ

For Portuguese Nobel laureate Saramago the Bible is a 'handbook of bad morals'

"It [the book] might offend Jews, but that doesn't really matter to me."

"The Bible is a manual of bad morals [which] has a powerful influence on our culture and even our way of life. Without the Bible, we would be different, and probably better people."

Despite being an unrepentant communist, José Saramago seems to have a taste for pomp, graces and honours. In this photo he is humbly bowing to the king of Sweden while (shock and horror for an anti-bourgeois) receiving the Nobel Prize for literature in 1998 from the hands of the monarch. Portuguese bloggers are having a field day poking fun at Saramago's new anti-Jewish tirade and believe that it is a publicity stunt ... communist style. (Portuguese Nobel Laureate's Remarks on Jews and the Holocaust Are "Incendiary and Offensive", ADL, 2003)

Source: AFP (extracts)

Speaking at the launch of his new book "Cain", José Saramago, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, said society would probably be better off without the Bible. Roman Catholic Church leaders accused the 86-year-old of a publicity stunt. The book is an ironic retelling of the Biblical story of Cain, Adam and Eve's son who killed his younger brother Abel.

At the launch event in the northern Portuguese town of Penafiel on Sunday, Saramago said he did not think the book would offend Catholics "because they do not read the Bible".

"The Bible is a manual of bad morals (which) has a powerful influence on our culture and even our way of life. Without the Bible, we would be different, and probably better people," he was quoted as saying by the news agency Lusa.

Saramago attacked "a cruel, jealous and unbearable God (who) exists only in our heads" and said he did not think his book would cause problems for the Catholic Church "because Catholics do not read the Bible. "It might offend Jews, but that doesn't really matter to me," he added. Father Manuel Marujão, the spokesman for the Portuguese conference of bishops, said he thought the remarks were a publicity stunt. "A writer of José Saramago's standing can criticise, (but) insults do no-one any good, particularly a Nobel Prize winner," the priest said.

Rabbi Elieze Martino, spokesman for the Jewish community in Lisbon, said the Jewish world would not be shocked by the writings of Saramago or anyone else. "Saramago does not know the Bible," the rabbi said, "he has only superficial understanding of it."

The author caused a scandal in Portugal in 1992 with "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ." The book depicted Jesus losing his virginity to Mary Magdalene and being used by God to control the world.

- Anti-Israel writer José Saramago's foundation to be housed in Casa dos Bicos in Lisbon

Norway has decided to teach Israel a lesson

"Norway is trying to send us messages on different fronts through its talks with Hamas and intolerance toward settlements. [...] They are tough Vikings and are not intimidated, not even by Lieberman." (Alon Liel)

Source: The Jerusalem Post

FM accuses Norway of anti-Semitic policy

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Norway last week of upholding anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli policies, Army Radio reported Tuesday.

Lieberman fiercely criticized the Norwegian government during the UN General Assembly in New York, demanding answers from Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre regarding talks Oslo had been holding with Hamas. He then brought up what he termed Norway's quiet support of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stating that Norwegian representatives to the UN did not leave the room during the Iranian leader's New York speech.

Lieberman also mentioned the Norwegian Culture Ministry's commemoration of Nazi-affiliated author Knut Hamsun, who had once eulogized Hitler in the Norwegian daily Aftenposten as a "warrior for mankind." In response, Støre denied the allegations of anti-Semitism, explaining that the commemoration was not political in nature and that a distinction was made between Hamsun's work and his world view.

However, former Foreign Ministry director-general Alon Liel told Army Radio that "Norway is trying to send us messages on different fronts" through its talks with Hamas and "intolerance toward settlements."

"They are tough Vikings and are not intimidated, not even by Lieberman," concluded Liel. "[Norway] is an ideological opponent who has decided to teach us a lesson."

Lieberman first voiced his criticism of Norwegian policies in August, after a newspaper in neighboring Sweden published a controversial article accusing Israel of organ harvesting.

For more on Norway, please click HERE

Diaspora Affairs Minister to virtually 'meet' with Swedish Jews

Source: article by Haviv Rettig Gur in TJP

Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein expects the diplomatic crisis over an incendiary Swedish newspaper report to take center stage next week when he meet s with Swedish Jewry in a video conference with community representative.

During the diplomatic crisis, which culminated with the cancellation of the upcoming visit to Israel of Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, many Swedish Jews said they felt trapped between the arguing parties.

"I'm sure no one in the community has any doubt that Israel is a free and democratic country that is not capable of doing the terrible things that have appeared [in the Swedish media] recently," Edelstein will tell the community leaders, referring to the Aftonbladet report alleging soldiers had harvested Palestinians' organs.

"Jews in Stockholm, and in every other community, should remember that IDF soldiers are not an abstract idea for us. They are our children, brothers, sisters, neighbors. They are not capable of doing the things unfortunately ascribed to them," he said.

But the meeting won't be an argument, he adds. "Any Jewish community should always remember Israel as a state is a partner and friend," he said.

The meeting is a joint initiative of Edelstein's ministry and the European Jewish Congress' leadel.NET project, an online initiative to foster European Jewish identity through online media. It is headed by Vladimir Kantor, son of EJC president Moshe Kantor.

Edelstein will hold an online conversation facilitated by leadel.NET's infrastructure with a different Jewish community each month. In October, he will speak with the community of Sofia, Bulgaria, and in October with Milan, Italy.

The "conversations" will focus not only on communal leaders, but will seek to attract young people to discuss Israel with Israeli public figures. Edelstein will invite such figures from academia, the media, government and the military to participate in the discussions.

"The congress is working hard to connect communities in Europe to Israel using modern technology. It's time to learn how to use the technology to build new bridges," said Tomer Marshall, managing director of leadel.NET, of the online gatherings.

- Aftonbladet: behind the banner 'freedom of press', by Lisa Abramowicz
- Sweden: Aftonbladet's accusations are anti-Semitic according to Council of Europe and OSCE classification

Norway: divest in Israel, invest in Turkmenistan

While it is unethical to invest in Israeli compay Elbit Systems, it is ethical for State-owned Norwegian oil company StatoilHydro to invest in Turkmenistan (Norway suspects Israel unethical, invests in Turkmenistan) Nigeria, Angola and Azerbaijan. And feel good about it.

Source: article in TJP

Norway's finance minister on Thursday announced that the Israeli company Elbit Systems Ltd. has been dropped from the Nordic country's pension fund due to ethical concerns.

A major optics and electronics manufacturer,the company supplies surveillance equipment used to monitor the security barrier between Israel and the West Bank.

"We do not wish to fund companies that so directly contribute to violations of international humanitarian law," said Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen [see below]. She said the shares were sold secretly ahead of the announcement.

Halvorsen said the security barrier has unacceptably restricted the movements of Palestinians on the West Bank, so that an investment in any company involved in the project causes "unacceptable risk of contribution to particularly serious violations of fundamental ethical norms." [...]

Since 2004, a national Council of Ethics has routinely reviewed investments by the fund, and periodically recommends dropping some shares based on a range of ethical issues, including human rights, labor rights, environmental issues and production of nuclear weapons and cluster bombs.
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- Norwegian Minister of Finance marches with thugs
- Kristin Halvorsen and the demonstration on January 8th
- Minister of Finance sticks to her guns
- Norway: Israel is unethical but investments in Turkmenistan are fine
- Behind the Humanitarian Mask: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland

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

Conservative Swedish FM Carl Bildt likens Netanyahu to Hamas

"It is possible to make peace without Hamas the same way it is possible to make peace without Netanyahu on the Israeli side." (Swedish FM)

"He clearly does not understand the difference between the leader of an Israeli political party and a group that is engaging in the terror that threatens Europe as much as Israel." (Israeli Foreign Ministry official)

Carl Bildt's contemptuous declaration about an Israeli politician gives the lie to the belief that only the Left is anti-Israel. He is a member of the Swedish ruling conservative party.

Source: article by Gil Hoffman in the JPost (April 10, 2008)

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt angered Israeli diplomatic officials Wednesday when he made a direct comparison between Hamas and opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu.

In an interview with a Swedish radio station, Bildt was asked how it was possible for Israel to make peace with the Palestinians while Hamas controlled the Gaza Strip.

"It is possible to make peace without Hamas the same way it is possible to make peace without Netanyahu on the Israeli side," Bildt said.

Israeli diplomatic officials called the comparison "chutzpah" and said that Bildt had a long history of making pro-Palestinian statements.

"It is a horrible and stupid statement that displays complete ignorance about the Middle East," a Foreign Ministry official told The Jerusalem Post. "He clearly does not understand the difference between the leader of an Israeli political party and a group that is engaging in the terror that threatens Europe as much as Israel."

- Swedish government funds fuel Mideast radical NGOs
- Swedish journalist looks for extremist Jews
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia's anti-Israeli activities
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia totally obsessed with Israel
- Sweden: when incitement against Jews is allowed

European funding for the narrative war, Gerald Steinberg

"These European-funded "lawfare" cases are part of the much wider process, conducted through highly political NGOs in Israel that seek to overturn the government's policies - groups like B'Tselem, Yesh Din, Machsom Watch, Bimkom, Ir Amim, Adalah, Mossawa, etc. (The EU claims to fund these NGOs under the guise of limited projects, but the amounts often constitute the bulk of the total operating budget.) "

European efforts to play a major role in Arab-Israeli peace discussions have again been overshadowed, this time by US President Barack Obama's initiative. To raise Europe's visibility, the rate of official visits has increased, and a number of academic conferences on Europe's role are taking place. For example, yesterday the Hebrew University began a three-day conference with the ambitious headline "Strengthening the Forces of Moderation in the Israeli-Palestinian
Conflict: The Role of the European Union After the Gaza War."

For diplomats and policy-makers, a "frank and honest exchange of views" on the problematic European track record in academic settings could be very helpful in correcting decades of misjudgments. For example, during the Oslo process, the European Union and its member states were convinced that Yasser Arafat was a "force of moderation," providing him and his corrupt Fatah cronies with suitcases of money, justified as necessary to "grease the wheels" of the peace process and Palestinian state building. Instead, the cash went to foreign bank accounts and terror.

In Europe, there have been very few independent analyses of these and other diplomatic and policy failures. Fearing embarrassment and worse, officials rejected calls for an independent investigation, until the European Parliament forced the European Commission to hold an inquiry (known as the OLAF report). But years later, this report remains top secret, meaning that few if any lessons were apparently learned.

Given this record and the difficulties that Europe has in analyzing itself, serious academic research and conferences can play a very positive role. Unfortunately, many of these discussions of European policy feature speakers and officials who prefer to preach to Israelis rather than investigating their contribution to failure. In parallel, important issues related to policy failures are conspicuously absent from such conferences.

One subjet consistently avoided in the quasi-official research and conference framework is the massive European funding for radical nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) whose activities fuel the conflict instead of "strengthening the forces of moderation," as proclaimed in the title of this conference. Through the "Barcelona program" and aid schemes, the European Commission and member governments provide tens of millions of euros every year to Palestinian, Israeli and other NGOs. The ostensible objectives include promoting democracy, peace, development and human rights, but the results are often counterproductive and fuel the conflict.

These NGOs lead the demonization and delegitimization of Israel, through labels such as "apartheid" and "war crimes," based on the strategy adopted at the 2001 Durban Conference NGO Forum. For example, European NGO funding is the primary engine behind the "lawfare" assaults against Israeli military and civilian officials - a form of soft-war aggression through the courts which accompanies the "hard war" of terrorism. The current case in Spain (chosen for its lenient universal jurisdiction policies) is led by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, which is funded by the European Commission, Norway, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and other governments. Indeed, PCHR is a central force in the NGO demonization and political warfare against Israel.

These European-funded "lawfare" cases are part of the much wider process, conducted through highly political NGOs in Israel that seek to overturn the government's policies - groups like B'Tselem, Yesh Din, Machsom Watch, Bimkom, Ir Amim, Adalah, Mossawa, etc. (The EU claims to fund these NGOs under the guise of limited projects, but the amounts often constitute the bulk of the total operating budget.)

An examination of the activities of European funded NGOs demonstrates that they do not contribute to "strengthening the forces of moderation." Many are active in promoting anti-Israel boycott campaigns, one-state proposals (meaning the elimination of Israel as a Jewish state) and submitting tendentious claims to UN "investigatory" committees.

A serious discussion of these issues would ask questions like: How does this happen? Who guides these decisions? Why are European government funds for NGOs used to undermine compromise, mutual acceptance and the two-state solution that Europe claims to support? The chaos in EU funding for NGOs and frequent overlaps add to these problems - there is no coordinator or central data source. European transparency regulations are ignored in this area, and no records or protocols are available for NGO allocations under European Commission programs. The names and possible conflicts of interests of the policy-makers are hidden from public scrutiny. Evaluation processes, if any, are secret, making it difficult to explore constructive changes.

When NGO Monitor was unable to obtain the most basic documents and threatened a lawsuit under the EU's own transparency rules, European officials sent a CD containing about 50 documents, most of which had all the relevant information deleted including the names of NGO partner organizations and the evaluation criteria. It was impossible to decipher the few meaningless statements and figures that remained, making constructive evaluation impossible.

These issues should be high on the agendas of discussions and conferences, such as the one taking place at Hebrew University. Unfortunately, these "difficult" subjects and conflicts are largely avoided. Comfortable but misleading headlines, such as "Strengthening the forces of moderation," take precedence over the open examination of European support for "lawfare," the "right of return" and Palestinian rejectionism.

The writer chairs the political science department at Bar-Ilan University and is executive director of NGO Monitor.

Source: JPost

Oxfam Belgium boycott campaign against Israel: the bloody orange poster is reminiscent of the 1370 legend that "holy communion wafers began to bleed after being stabbed with daggers by the Jews of Brabant at the synagogue in Brussels".

A Clouded EU Presidency: Swedish Funding for NGO Rejectionism

Norwegian media ridicules and misquotes Israeli editor

"The only problem was that Gerstenfeld never made the comments for which he was quoted. He never said that "Norway is the most anti-Semitic country in Europe". Neither did he say that "Norwegians are barbaric and uncivilized". These comments were invented by Norwegians, in order to make Gerstenfeld look bad. (...) To the extent that Norwegians will remember Gerstenfeld it will be as the ridiculous Israeli who tried to use the old accusation of "anti-Semitism" to intimidate and silence perfectly legitimate criticism of Israeli atrocities."

"Norway does not get a lot of attention from the outside world. We’re just like New Zealand with more snow. Things more or less work and we coexist peacefully with our neighbors so there isn’t much to write about. For example, Norway is a member of NATO and has been allied to the USA for more than half a century. Yet history books covering USA’s foreign policy have a tendency to omit Norway altogether. This is painfully embarrassing for a small nation which looks to the West for protection and considers USA its closest ally. So on the few occasions when Norway does get mentioned we do get our knickers in a twist.

In 2008 the Israeli political scientist Manfred Gerstenfeld published the book "Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic Countries, Israel, and the Jews (2008)". The book consisted of essays on historical and modern expressions of anti-Semitism. Nordic elites, the book suggested, "are imbued with humanitarian racism", camouflaging and morphing classical anti-semitism into "legitimate criticism" of the world’s only Jewish state – Israel, which the media and politicians set impossibly high standards to while at the same time turning a blind eye to the vices and evils of Israel’s enemies.

Not exactly the sort of book Norwegians were waiting for; we prefer people to focus on the many nice things about our wonderful country. For instance, Norwegian development aid now constitutes 1% of our GDP. How come Gerstenfeld couldn’t have written about that, instead of making nasty insinuations about anti-Semitism? Nonetheless there were the beginnings of a painful debate. People started referring to the book. Some insisted that there might be something to it and called for self-scrutiny. Perhaps Norway wasn’t so perfect after all ?

Then Manfred Gerstenfeld agreed to an interview with Fredrik Græsvik from the Norwegian TV channel TV2. Subsequently on March 1st, 20 Norwegian newspapers quoted Gerstenfeld as saying that "Norway is the most anti-Semitic country in Europe" and "Norwegians are barbaric and uncivilized". The quotes spread like wildfire throughout the nation and across the border to Sweden, a nation which had as little reason to love Gerstenfeld as Norway had.

In the wake of the newspaper articles there were vicious talkbacks. Blood-maddened bloggers tore to the cyber surface. How dared he? Could this obscure Israeli, this think-tank employed buffoon, possibly be serious? But there was more than anger and indignation in the air. There was a liberating sense of relief. The Israeli editor of that most unwelcome book was nothing but a racist, Norwegian hating scum-bag ! No need to read his book then. No need for a debate based on such a very silly person's book. And so it all died down and "Behind the humanitarian mask" slipped from view and the Norwegian media could get back to the legitimate criticism of Israel at which they so excel.

The only problem was that Gerstenfeld never made the comments for which he was quoted. He never said that "Norway is the most anti-Semitic country in Europe". Neither did he say that "Norwegians are barbaric and uncivilized". These comments were invented by Norwegians, in order to make Gerstenfeld look bad. Here is the letter from Gerstenfeld to the CEO of TV2, and here is the reply from journalist Fredrik Græsvik, in which he sort of apologizes and sort of is very cavalier about the whole thing.

But already now this is non-news, the stuff of which yesterday was built. To the extent that Norwegian will remember Gerstenfeld it will be as the ridiculous Israeli who tried to use the old accusation of "anti-Semitism" to intimidate and silence perfectly legitimate criticism of Israeli atrocities.

But now you know, at least. And that’s something."

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews

Related:
- And so the plot thickens…
- God’s chosen people…

Norway in 1814: no Jews or Jesuits, please ...

"With so few Jews then, how has Norway managed to develop this obsessive - compulsive disorder about Jews and Israel ? I will tell you. I don’t know."

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews blog

"Jews in Norway are few. All in all they number around one and a half thousand. In a population of 4.5 million, that’s minuscule. I’m 37 years old and have lived most of my life here in Oslo, and to the best of my knowledge I have never met a Jew. There are a couple of people I know who have slightly Jewish-sounding names, but there’s no way to find out and unfortunately this may be a good thing. So Norwegian Jews are few and far between and completely integrated. Norwegian Jews don’t stick out enough to be recognized. When you think about it, neither do Norwegian non-Jews.

Old Jewish cemetery in Oslo

When I was a teenager my family lived in Finland. To our amusement, we discovered that our neighbors were unable to recognize each other on the street. The policy was to just assume that if you saw someone in your street, then that person probably lived there and you would grunt a discreet greeting if you passed by close enough. Even by Nordic standards this is a bit much. I do, however, live by this policy myself now, and am happily unable to describe the personal characteristics of a single one of my neighbors. It is the Nordic way, but we’re good people.

No Jews or Jesuits, please

With so few Jews then, how has Norway managed to develop this obsessive - compulsive disorder about Jews and Israel ? I will tell you. I don’t know. In part, it’s historical legacy. Norway was declared a Christian country around 1000 AD, and everyone who desired to worship the old gods had to go to Iceland. By 1641 things had relaxed sufficiently for both Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews to live here a little bit, but when we formulated our first constitution in 1814 it was back to square one: no Jews or Jesuits to be allowed access to the realm. This sordid state of affairs existed until 1844, when the ban against Jews was lifted in part due to the tireless campaigning of our poet Henrik Wergland.

Henrik Wergland (1808-1845)

The Jewish community then grew to a healthy number of two thousand by 1939. At this point Norway was invaded by Germany, and my grandfather had to leave his job at the bank to go and fight the Germans at Narvik. When he returned from the war, days later, my grandmother had just washed the entrance floor and so wouldn’t let him in the front door and he had to go around the back. Sometimes I lay awake at night and think about how I’ve got this man’s blood in my veins, and is it a good thing or not?

Anyway Norway was occupied and the war was over and my grandfather and everybody else could go back to keeping their heads down at work. Our occupiers requested that we give them our Jews, and curiously enough we were instantly able to provide them with the exact details on every single Jew in the country. The Norwegian police helped round them up. Some Jews managed to escape to Sweden. 758 Norwegian Jews were killed in Auschwitz. Out of the survivors, many didn’t return. Those who did return found that their assets had been stolen. They had to go to court to get their things back and even if they did they had to pay an administration fee for doing so. By 1946, Norway had only 559 Jews left.

The Jews had ample warning …

It is a very peculiar thing, but I was at a family gathering a while back and there was some talk of the war and the issue of the Norwegian Jews came up. One man took me by the arm and gently said: "You know, the Jews had ample warning about what was going to happen, they could have fled. And the ones who listened did." Now isn’t this a very interesting thing to say? The message seems to be that somehow the Norwegian Jews were a bit slow in the head, and that if they had only had their wits about them they could have survived. A sentence like this one shifts the responsiblity for the murder onto the murdered, it’s eerie. Why would you want to go and say a thing like that ?"

- Anti-Semitic cartoons in the mainstream media
- Bias in the Norwegian media

End the Holocaust Memorials, by Daniel Schwammenthal

"Let's put an end to the shallow declarations of "Never Again," which have degenerated into denunciations against long-dead Nazis made from a safe historical distance. This is risk-free grandstanding, which German writer Johannes Gross summed up well: "The resistance to Hitler and his kind," he once wrote, "is getting stronger the more the Third Reich recedes into the past."

"End the Holocaust Memorials - The ceremonies have become a substitute for acting against modern fascists.

After yesterday's Holocaust Memorial Day, I have a request: Let it be the last one, at least outside the Jewish world.

Let's put an end to the shallow declarations of "Never Again," which have degenerated into denunciations against long-dead Nazis made from a safe historical distance. This is risk-free grandstanding, which German writer Johannes Gross summed up well: "The resistance to Hitler and his kind," he once wrote, "is getting stronger the more the Third Reich recedes into the past."

Holocaust Memorial Day has become an annual ritual in which Europeans promise moral clarity and courage the next time it's needed. Yet the list of post-Holocaust genocides is long: the killing fields of Cambodia, the slaughter of Tutsis in Rwanda, the murder of Christians and animists in southern Sudan and the continuing destruction of Muslims in Darfur. While the world yawns, the Islamists in Khartoum are busy with their second genocide.

Nor has the memorial day benefited Jews. Solemn declarations about the evils of the Holocaust have not ended Europe's booming trade with those dreaming of Israel's destruction, the mullahs in Tehran. The ceremonies deploring the West's inaction against the German fascists 60 years ago have become a substitute for action against modern fascists, predominantly Islamist.

Anti-Semitism -- and not only when disguised as anti-Zionism -- is in vogue again in Europe. To scant media attention, and even scanter government criticism, the shouts of "Death to Jews" have filled the streets of the Continent in recent weeks, as protestors, mostly Muslims, voice opposition to the war in Gaza [photos of anti-Israel rally held in Brussels, the capital of Europe, on January 11 - one placard reads "Gaza is worse than Auschwitz"]. Western trade unions and academics have intensified their calls for a boycott of Israel. In Italy, a trade union even called for boycotts of local stores owned by Jews.

The solemn speeches around Europe yesterday mourning those who died in the Holocaust hardly mentioned these developments. Citing the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe, the Central Council of Jews in Germany stayed away from yesterday's official ceremony in the German Parliament.

The United Nations also had a Holocaust memorial service yesterday. Yet just four months ago, the president of Iran was allowed to give an anti-Semitic speech at the General Assembly to enthusiastic applause from many delegations. Although talking about "Zionists," Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's use of classic anti-Semitic canards about a Jewish plot for world domination made it clear whom he really was after.

Although they "are miniscule minority," he said, the Zionists "have been dominating an important portion of the financial and monetary centers as well as the political decision-making centers of some European countries and the U.S. in a deceitful, complex and furtive manner." And so on. The secretary general of the General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, embraced the Iranian after his hate speech.

That's the same d'Escoto Brockmann who is calling for a boycott of Israel. It's also the same man who was scheduled to open yesterday's U.N. Holocaust Memorial ceremony but backed down after Israel complained. It's easy to understand why he had wanted to be there: The more crocodile tears people like him spill for dead Jews the easier it is for them to demonize the living ones and avoid being tagged as anti-Semitic. In such hands, Holocaust memorials have become a cover to pound the Jewish state with greater moral authority.

In Europe, there were a few cancellations of yesterday's annual Holocaust Memorial Day events, along with comments suggesting that Jews are the new Nazis. In Barcelona, a city official told La Vanguardia that "marking the Jewish Holocaust while a Palestinian Holocaust is taking place is not right." People in Lulea, Sweden, said Israel's war in Gaza left them unable to mourn the six million dead Jews. "It feels uneasy to have a torchlight procession to remember the victims of the Holocaust at this time," Bo Nordin, a clergyman and spokesman for a local church, told Swedish National Radio. "We have been preoccupied and grief-stricken by the war in Gaza and it would just feel odd with a large ceremony about the Holocaust."

Trine Lilleng, a Norwegian diplomat -- stationed in Saudi Arabia no less -- spelled it out more directly in an email that found its way into the Jerusalem Post: "The grandchildren of Holocaust survivors from World War II are doing to the Palestinians exactly what was done to them by Nazi Germany," she is reported to have written.

The lessons of the Holocaust are straightforward enough but they haven't been learned, as yesterday's events show. Let's stop pretending otherwise and put an end to these phony ceremonies."

Source: article in the EJP
Daniel Schwammenthal is an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal Europe. This editorial appeared first in the Wall Street Journal Europe.

EU parliament fails to denounce anti-Semitic attacks in Europe

"Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director

Source: European Coalition for Israel

"Last week a small delegation from the European Coalition for Israel met with the Swedish government to discuss their upcoming EU-presidency in 2009 as it relates to Israel and the Middle East. (...)

While France is categorically refusing to meet official representatives of the terrorist organization Hamas, the Swedish position has been more pragmatic. During the one hour meeting with the State Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Sweden, ECI reminded the Swedish government of the three conditions set up by the international community for accepting Hamas as a negotiating power; namely, an immediate stop to violence, recognition of the right of Israel to exist and acceptance of all previous agreements.

During the meeting the issue of Palestinian incitement to violence was also raised. According to recent reports this incitement continues to flourish both in the Palestinian media and in school textbooks despite objections from the international community.

"Universal values such as tolerance and peace need to be upheld and respected not only in the EU member states, but also in all those countries and organizations that receive EU-funding," stated ECI director Tomas Sandell at the meeting.

"Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?" he asked.

The Swedish government did not object, but agreed that the EU needs to uphold and promote these universal values through dialogue and mutual respect to avoid direct confrontation and humiliation.

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The meeting with the Swedish government was part of a series of encounters with European governments that are in line to take on the rotating EU-presidency. During the meeting the ECI also reminded the Swedish government about the fact that this November will mark the 70th anniversary of the Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass.

"Faith and values 70 years after Kristallnacht" will be the theme of the Annual ECI Policy Conference in Brussels on 11-12 November where a member of the Swedish Parliament will also be speaking."

Islam and the Evolution of Europe’s Far Right, by R. John Matthies

Islam and the Evolution of Europe's Far Right, by R. John Matthies, Pajamas Media (Read full article here)

"Mounting fears of Islamic encroachment are restructuring the European Far Right, bringing about the rise of fire-breathing libertarians and pro-Israel populists."

"One might prefer to dismiss Wilders ["Geert Wilders, the Netherlands' puckish libertarian"] and Kjærsgaard [Pia Kjærsgaard of the Danish People's Party (DF)] as hotheads, or merely out of touch. But a report just now released by the World Economic Forum (in partnership with Georgetown University) on the subject of West-Islamic world dialogue, suggests that the Far Right's anti-Islam turn is far more representative of Europe's fears than one has wished to believe. According to the results of surveys gathered by the Gallup Institute, 60% of Europeans surveyed see the growing interaction between the Muslim world and the West as a menace to freedom. What's more, the study claims that the citizens of Wilders' Netherlands and Kjærsgaard's Denmark are most fearful, with 67% of Dutch and 80% of Danes surveyed in agreement with this statement. What's more, like Kjærsgaard, fully half of Danes consider Islam incompatible with democracy. (Sadly, Gallup failed to collect opinions in France, Germany, or Great Britain.)

In the end, the phenomenon of right-wing populism (or left-wing reaction) is as good a marker as any to insist upon the new ground being broken among these figures and parties of the "Far Right." And it is clear that perceptions of Islam as an intolerant faith are driving the agenda - for Left and for Right, and across the political spectrum. For this reason, one can no longer easily dismiss the hodgepodge of characters, all platforms considered, who "bang on about Islam." And if Britain’s Nick Griffin is correct in his estimation that Islam is soon to dominate political discussion, we can expect to hear noises like his own from the continent’s mainstream political elite. It is unlikely that Old Guard formations like the British National Party will ever enjoy the support of the Swiss and Danish Far Right - both for reasons of their history and the promise of fresh libertarian faces like Wilders'. But in the meantime, Britain’s flagging passion for "diversity" presents sure opportunity for the party - as it does for anyone interested in the popular vote."

Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue, January 2008

"European populations surveyed are much more likely to believe that greater interaction between the Muslim and Western worlds is a threat rather than a benefit. This appears to reflect widespread anti-immigration sentiment within the European Union.
Clear majorities in all European countries surveyed see greater interaction between the West and Muslim worlds as a threat. This is true of 79% of the population in Denmark, 67% in Italy, 67% in the Netherlands, 68% in Spain, 65% in Sweden and 59% in Belgium. This corresponds to a growing fear among Europeans of a perceived 'Islamic threat' to their cultural identities, driven in part by rising immigration from predominantly Muslim regions.
A recent poll found that only 21% of Europeans supported Turkey’s bid for EU membership. Nicolas Sarkozy’s successful presidential campaign in France included strong opposition to Turkish EU membership. A 2006 poll found that the main reason Germans opposed Turkey’s membership was 'fear of a growing influence of Islam in Europe'.
Although some might expect the United States, Israel and the Middle East to be more likely than Europe to feel threatened by the 'other,' the opposite is the case. In the United States (70%), Canada (72%) and Israel (56%) majorities say that greater interaction is a benefit." (p.p. 24-25)

Europeans circumspect about benefits of interaction between Muslim and Western Worlds

A report "Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue" presented at the 38th World Economic Forum (Davos) found that Europeans are more circumspect than Americans and Israelis about the benefits of "interaction between Muslim and Western worlds": "… majorities in the United States (70%) and Canada (72%) say greater interaction is a benefit. Majorities in Singapore (77%) and Israel (56%), both nations with majority-Muslim neighbours as well as significant Muslim minorities themselves, also believe that greater interaction between Muslim and Western societies is a benefit, not a threat. In sharp contrast, clear majorities in all European countries surveyed - including Denmark (79%), Italy (67%), the Netherlands (67%), Spain (68%), Sweden (65%) and Belgium (59%) - see greater interaction between the West and the Muslim world as a threat. This reflects a growing fear among Europeans – driven in part by rising immigration from predominantly Muslim regions - of a perceived "Islamic threat" to their cultural identities. A recent poll found that only 21% of Europeans supported Turkey’s bid to become an EU member, and Nicolas Sarkozy’s successful presidential campaign in France included strong opposition to Turkish membership. A 2006 poll found that the main reason Germans opposed Turkey’s membership was "fear of a growing influence of Islam in Europe"…" This survey should be compared to the one carried out in 2003 by the European Commission which revealed that 60% Europeans believed that Israel poses the greatest threat to world peace. What are the grounds for such pessimism among Europeans - whereas Americans, victims of 9/11, and Israelis, victims of human bombs, are much more optimistic and positive about relations with the Muslim World? Where is the logic for feeling threatened both by the Muslim World and by Israel? Not to mention the widespread antipathy felt for the U.S. If the media and opinion-makers did their job properly, Europeans would have a much better understanding of the world around them and feel less threatened.