The pope, the Holy Land and the truth, Denis Maceoin

"What concentration camp ever launched a single rocket at its guards, let alone over 8,000, as the Gazans have done? What Nazis ever provided oil, water, food and medicines to camp inmates, as the Israelis have done? What camps had shops stocked from floor to ceiling with goods, or are studded with expensive villas and apartment blocks? What camp inmates would ever have set about destroying £14 million worth of greenhouses provided for their well-being, as the Gazans did in 2005?"

Extract from an essay in TJP

"ISRAEL WOULD would also be a perfect place for Benedict to denounce another churchman who has indulged in a similar distortion of the truth. Cardinal Renato Martino [photo], head of the Vatican Council for Justice and Peace, recently bought in to a smaller but equally vicious lie, namely that the people of Gaza live in "a big concentration camp." This sits next to other popular lies, chiefly that Israelis/Jews are really Nazis who kill babies for sport, or that there has been genocide, even a holocaust in Gaza.

What concentration camp ever launched a single rocket at its guards, let alone over 8,000, as the Gazans have done? What Nazis ever provided oil, water, food and medicines to camp inmates, as the Israelis have done? What camps had shops stocked from floor to ceiling with goods, or are studded with expensive villas and apartment blocks? What camp inmates would ever have set about destroying £14 million worth of greenhouses provided for their well-being, as the Gazans did in 2005?

The "concentration camp" claim is a blatant lie and an insult to the millions who really did suffer and die in the camps, and the pope must denounce it and chasten the cardinal who has promoted it. Only transparency can bring eventual peace to the region.

To claim, as so many do, that there has been a genocide or a holocaust in Gaza is not merely wrong, it is indecent. According to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, the annual growth rate in Gaza is about three times the world average. The population there has grown by almost 40 percent between 1997 and 2007. What genocide has ever increased the numbers of a population? Yet that lie allows marchers round the world to call Israelis "Nazis" and "Zionazis," and cartoonists to draw hooked-nosed Jews in SS uniforms. We all know the consequences when similar lies were told about the Jews in the 1930s and '40s. There must be no question this time that a pope will denounce these fictions for their incitement to the oldest of evils.

THE POPE must also address the widespread claim that Israel is an "apartheid state." This also is both ludicrous and dangerous. There are no apartheid laws in Israel, Arabs are not excluded from restaurants, cinemas, concert halls or swimming pools, but serve in parliament and on the Supreme Court. The claim is another vicious lie and, given the Church's commitment to anti-racism, it is fitting for the pope to expose it.

Passing beyond the lies (of which there are dozens more), an urgent matter on the pope's agenda must surely be the plight of Christians in the West Bank and Gaza. Harassed by militant Islamic groups, the Christian population there has been dwindling. In 1990, Christians made up 60% of the population in Bethlehem; today, a mere 19 years later, they number just 20% and that figure is shrinking rapidly. Christians in the Palestinian territories have fallen in numbers from 15% of the population in 1950 to less than 1% today. Calls have been made for their extinction, and attacks are regularly made on institutions and individual Christians. More and more Christians pack their bags and flee. In Israel, their numbers have risen from 34,000 in 1948 to more than 140,000 today. If the pope does not speak out and make this an issue of international concern, the bombings, the beatings and the intimidation will continue, and before very long the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem will be left to the tender mercies of Islamic Jihad.

THERE IS ONE other thing Pope Benedict should consider doing before he leaves Israel. In Haifa, on the slopes of Mount Carmel, stands a UNESCO World Heritage Site made up of the gardens, shrines and international headquarters of the Baha'i religion. It is a beautiful place, one of the loveliest on the Mediterranean coast. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where these places would be safe. Iran, a country that threatens to wipe Israel off the map, is the original home of the Baha'is, who form its largest religious minority. There the holiest Baha'i shrines have been bulldozed into rubble. Since the revolution, Baha'is have been imprisoned and executed, and made the objects of severe persecution. If the pope could stand in the gardens in Haifa and proclaim his abhorrence of all religious persecution, it would send out a firm message to bullies like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and those, like Hizbullah and Hamas, whom he controls.

There is a deeper message that the pope is well-situated to convey, which is that the truth is greater than the lie, and that there can be no peace while there is falsehood. Only when the Israelis and the Palestinians can engage in complete honesty with one another, and only when the deluded marchers walking on European streets chanting "Hamas! Hamas! Jews to the gas!" have their eyes opened to the enormous deceit that has been perpetrated on them will a real and lasting peace begin to grow in the Holy Land. It's a great opportunity. I pray it is not too late for Benedict to take it."

The writer is a former lecturer in Arabic and Islamic studies, the author of several reports on radical Islam and currently the editor-designate of an international journal, the Middle East Quarterly. This piece first appeared in the Catholic Herald.

Norwegian and French newspapers compare media coverage of Gaza and Sri Lanka

"Even at the UN tragedies are not equal. [...] If in January the war in the Gaza Strip, rightly, provoked a whirlwind of diplomatic activity, punctuated by nocturnal meetings of the Security Council, Sri Lankan civilians die in relative indifference."

Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews

Business editorial states "There is a difference between Singalese and Jews"

"Dagens Næringsliv is Norway’s largest business daily. Yesterday many readers found the following editorial a refreshing change from the same-same of Akersgata (Norway’s Fleet Street):

"Social commitment - The tragedy of Sri Lanka is entering its temporarily last act

During the next few days the last little piece of land still controlled by the LTTE, the Tamil Tigers, will probably be conquered by Singalese troops. After almost three decades of war 70,000 people - at least - are dead. The island’s commercial life and environment have been severely injured. Millions of Tamils have been displaced and exiled. The problem, integrating the Tamil minority, is unsolved.

This should concern us. Norwegian authorities, led by our present Minister of Development Erik Solheim, has been strongly committed to creating peace. The conflict is in many ways an enlarged edition of the conflict in the Middle East, where also Norway was engaged in peace attempts, with about the same miserable result.

LTTE behaves as brutally as Hamas and Hizbollah - at least, with suicide bombing and recruitment of child-soldiers as its specialities. At the same time the Singalese governments’ warfare makes Israel’s conduct against the Palestinians appear mild and humane.
But even though the sufferings are greater, we are less concerned. Media coverage is far more muted. Academics and artists do not sign petitions, musicians do not arrange supportive concerts. Concerned doctors are busy elsewhere. When 3,500 people participated in the demonstration in Oslo earlier this month, there was hardly a white face in sight.

There is, obviously, a difference between Tamils and Palestinians - and there is a difference between Singalese and Jews. Whatever the reason may be.""
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Source: LE BLOGNADEL

From Le Monde :

"Even at the UN tragedies are not equal. Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans are learning it at their own expense. For three months in the north-east of the island, they have been trapped in heavy fighting between brutal government forces and the unscrupulous Tiger rebellion. If in January the war in the Gaza Strip, rightly, provoked a whirlwind of diplomatic activity, punctuated by nocturnal meetings of the Security Council, Sri Lankan civilians die in relative indifference.

The UN lukewarm reaction is difficult to explain. According to the Organization's unofficial figures, unverifiable in the absence of observers, nearly 6,500 people have already died - five times more than in Gaza." (April 30)

"The crime is almost perfect. Close to 6,500 Sri Lankans have died, according to United Nations' estimates, and no corpse has hit the front pages of newspapers or TV screens. The authorities in Colombo have effectively banned all witnesses from the war zone. " (May 2).

Gilles William Goldnadel asks: "At this point, if I humbly point out that the Sinhalese are not Jews, will I be told again that I am overreacting ?"

Good point indeed.

Belgian opera shows Jew raping woman in anti-Israel piece

"Samson [...] died at the hands of his occupiers, while killing many of his captors. This, according to the opera's creators, makes him "the world's first shaheed," or martyr."

Intifada at the opera. The Flanders Opera is also organising a number of political debates on the conflict.

Source: article by Cnaan Liphshiz in Haaretz

"By portraying a religious Jew raping a woman in a show about Israel, the state-funded Flanders Opera is in danger of encouraging anti-Semitic stereotypes, leading members from Belgium's Jewish community told Haaretz.

The highly-controversial scene appeared in the premier of "Samson and Delilah" in Antwerp on Tuesday evening. The contested show was created by two Israelis, who turned the biblical tale of Samson into a reverse-role protest against Israel's occupation of Palestinians.

Belgium's Jewish community has condemned the opera directed by Omri Nitzan and Amir Nizar Zuabi for dressing Philistine conquerors in Western garb while Hebrew fighters like Samson wear Arab clothes. The rape scene shows a Philistine religious priest dressed up as a religious Jew while raping Delilah, who was Samson's lover. The rapist was the only man in the show wearing a skull cap. The Flanders Opera could not be reached for a comment.

Samson lived in the 11th century BCE as a partisan under occupation of the Philistines - a powerful and technologically-advanced people of European roots. The Bible says he died at the hands of his occupiers, while killing many of his captors. This, according to the opera's creators, makes him "the world's first shaheed," or martyr.

"From conversation with the creators, I gather the rape scene was meant to protest religious coercion inside Israel," said Michael Freilich, editor-in-chief of the Dutch-language Jewish affairs newspaper Joods Actueel. "But most people in Belgium don't make such distinctions. To them a man wearing a skull cap in a show about Israel is a Jewish Israeli."

Another image from the show showed occupying soldiers clad in black combat suits and armed with M-16 assault rifles stroking the weapons while placing them horizontally against their crotches. Israel's ambassador to Belgium, Tamar Samash, was invited to the event but eventually canceled. Sources involved with the embassy's work in Belgium said the ambassador felt it was "inappropriate" for her to attend on Tuedsay night, the eve of Israel's 61st anniversary.

"I have not seen the show so I would rather not comment on the specifics," Eli Ringer, vice-chairman of the forum of Jewish Organizations of Belgium, told Haaretz. "But I gather it portrayed a man wearing a skull cap in the ugliest way possible and of course this is not helpful to combat anti-Semitism."

Ringer also said that he is concerned about the use of holy scriptures to promote political causes. "History tells us this is not a good idea," he said. A number of members of Jewish organizations attended the premier to report on it. They said the production provoked members of the crowd to boo the cast at certain points. This was confirmed by Dutch radio. The Jewish onlookers said the jeers did not come from the delegation. Meanwhile, most Belgian media offered negative criticism of the opera on artistic grounds rather than ideological ones. "If you go to the opera, close your eyes because the music is wonderful," one critic wrote.

Another connoisseur said the role reversal is too complicated to follow because the original text of the opera was not changed to fit it. "Imagine seeing a production of Little Red Riding Hood where a wolf who is dressed up like a little girl meets another little girl while he is on his way to visit her granny," the opera-lover said."

- Belgian Jews criticize Flanders Opera for staging anti-Israeli premiere
- "Massaal boegeroep" na voorstelling Samson en Dalila in Vlaamse Opera
- Intifada lyrique

Is there an anti-Israeli "European street" ?

"[...] the sole ambassador in Israel who backed Ferrero-Waldner was the French [Jean-Michel Casa]. He was quoted as saying that her statements reflect the European public's feelings."

Are "European public's feelings" supposed to mean that, like the famed "Arab street", there is now in Europe an anti-Israeli "European street" ? Only that it's not called "street" but "European public's feelings".

Source: Israel to EU: Criticism of Netanyahu government unacceptable
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent

"A Foreign Ministry official has been warning European countries that unless they curtail criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu's government, Israel will block the European Union from participating in the diplomatic process with the Palestinians. The main target of the offensive is EU External Affairs Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner*, who recently called for a freeze in upgrading ties with Israel over its peace process policies. Several days ago, the deputy director for Europe at the Foreign Ministry, Rafi Barak, began calling European ambassadors in Israel regarding the attitude toward the new government. The first conversations were with France's Jean-Michel Casa, Britain's Tom Phillips and the Chargé d'Affaires of the German embassy.

Barak sharply protested the criticism by European ministers and senior EU officials about Israel's government. Barak singled out Ferrero-Waldner in his rebuke and said her statements were troubling in their form, style and timing.

"For some weeks now, we have been telling everyone in Europe that Israel's government needs time to reformulate policies, and not to begin a war in the press," Barak told the diplomats.

He also noted that the European Union had not made an official decision on freezing the upgrading of ties, and therefore it was unclear what gave Ferrero-Waldner the authority to make her statements. [...]

"Israel is asking Europe to lower the tone and conduct a discreet dialog," he said. "However, if these declarations continue, Europe will not be able to be part of the diplomatic process, and both sides will lose."

In a telegram to the Israeli missions in Europe, Barak briefed the Israeli diplomats on his conversations and noted that the sole ambassador in Israel who backed Ferrero-Waldner was the French. He was quoted as saying that her statements reflect the European public's feelings.

A political source in Jerusalem noted that Ferrero-Waldner was sharply criticized by European officials, and one European foreign minister said in a private conversation that she "is causing damage to European foreign policy in her attacks on Israel"."
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*Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner who is being so critical of the Israeli governement is Austrian. Maybe she should be paying a little more attention to what's going on is her own country.

Articles in Z-Word by Karl Pfeifer, a veteran anti-fascist and journalist based in Vienna:
- Free Speech and the Far Right
- Austria’s Far Right Blames the Jews…Again
- Austria: Right Wing Extremist Elected Parliament President
- Antisemitism: It’s Time for Tachles
- Antisemitic Tropes in Austria’s Top-Selling Daily
- Stalinist Smears
- Far Right Scandals Continue in Austria
- Antisemitism and the Austrian Left
-Austria’s Far Right and Selective Free Speech
- "Excessively": The Austrian Media on Gaza

Trial of Ilan Halimi’s barbarian murderers opens in Paris

"At his mother's demand, Ilan Halimi was reburied at the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem in February 2007. "You will never be able to hurt him any more," she wrote in her book, addressing the killers. "I took him away from here because one day you will be free and you would have been able to come and spit on his tomb.""

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Ilan Halimi, R.I.P. (11 October 1982-13 February 2006)
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Source: article by Joseph Byron at EJP

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"PARIS (EJP)---28 members of the "gang of Barbarians", a suburban dangerous group, go on trial in Paris on Wednesday for brutally murdering Ilan Halimi, a Jewish Parisian young man in 2006.

The killing of 23-year-old Halimi, who was held to ransom for three weeks in a Parisian suburb, traumatized France, a country haunted by a history of anti-semitism and wartime collaboration with the Nazis.

Relatives of the victim last week expressed indignation at the defence’s attempts to cast doubt on claims that the 29-year-old Youssouf Fofana, leader of the gang, had chosen to kidnap Halimi in 2006 because he was Jewish. "We’re shocked that there is even any debate about it," said Anne-Laure, one of Halimi’s sisters.

She noted that Fofana, who insisted on gang members calling him "Osama", had often insulted Jews and sung verses from the Koran in between ransom demands over the telephone.

He allegedly told his accomplices that he wanted to kidnap a Jew because the Jewish community was rich, would stick together and would pay a big ransom.

"My son died because of that prejudice, just like millions of Jews before him," said Ilan's mother Ruth Halimi, in a recent published book about her son’s ordeal in which she compared the kidnapping with that of Daniel Pearl, the American journalist beheaded by Muslim extremists in 2002 in Pakistan.

Ruth Halimi has called for a public trial so that her son's death "will not have been in vain". But the trial of Fofana, a 29-year-old Frenchman of Ivorian origin, is scheduled to be held behind closed doors at a juvenile court, because two of the gang members were minors at the time of the murder. French law allows for a public trial to be held in certain cases where juveniles are involved. "A public trial would have helped better understand the criminal machine, to make parents and teenagers reflect. It’s the law of silence that killed her son, it would be unbearable for the trial to remain silent," Francis Szpyner, lawyer of Ruth Halimi, has said.

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Ilan Halimi, a 23-year-old mobile phone salesman, went missing in Paris in January 2006. After being lured by a young woman from the shop where he worked on Boulevard Voltaire, he was held captive for more than three weeks in a Paris suburb.
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Authorities found him naked, handcuffed and covered with burn marks from cigarettes near railroad tracks south of Paris on February 13, 2006. He died on the way to the hospital, having bled to death from stab wounds to his neck. Halimi’s abductors had tortured him while demanding a 450,000 euros ransom from his family and the Jewish community.
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The family was advised by police to ask for a face-to-face meeting before paying any money, but negotiations kept foundering.

Just as shocking as the brutality of the murder was the fact that so many people knew about it and failed to tell the police. The girl who had been used to attract Ilan told several friends about the kidnapping, but none came forward. One of the gang members who did not want Halimi to be killed told his father what was happening. He advised the boy to keep quiet.

The grisly anti-Semitic crime shocked France and its 600,000-strong Jewish community. After two years of investigation, the magistrate came to te conclusion that Fofana ordered a young pretty woman to target Halimi because he was Jewish and because they presumed Jews were wealthy.

Fofana was arrested in March 2006 in the Ivory Coast, whre he had fled, and extradited to France.

At his mother's demand, Ilan Halimi was reburied at the Givat Shaul cemetery in Jerusalem in February 2007. "You will never be able to hurt him any more," she wrote in her book, addressing the killers. "I took him away from here because one day you will be free and you would have been able to come and spit on his tomb."

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The trial will focus attention on rising anti-Semitic attacks over the past few years, in France where the desecration of Jewish graveyards has become a common crime in France."

- The murder of Ilan Halimi in Paris three years ago

- The murder of Ilan Halimi: Why anti-semitism is a problem, by Jeff Weintraub

- The Murder of Ilan Halimi: A Jewish man is kidnapped in Paris, tortured for 24 days and then dies

European Christians remember Evian 1938

"Let the spirit of Evian 2009 symbolize our commitment to learn from history and to stand up for the Jewish people at this critical time. Let Evian no longer only be known as the place which paved the way for the Holocaust but a place which is known for bringing peace and justice to the world" (Tomas Sandell)

Recommit to the security and safety of the Jewish people in Evian 2009

Evian les-Bains 24 April, 2009 – Christians from many European nations, and from from countries as far away as Australia, USA and Israel, crossed the Lake Geneva on Tuesday from the European UN headquarter in Geneva to Evian, to commemorate the failed Evian conference in 1938 [photo above]. In Geneva the Iranian president Ahmadinejad had been allowed to speak at the World Conference against Racism on Monday, calling Israel a "racist state". In Evian the delegates were reminded of a similar conference in 1938 where leaders of the 33 nations had gathered to deal with the consequences of Nazi annexation of Austria and the growing number of Jewish refugees in Germany and Austria.

"Hitler wanted to test the nations if they were willing to receive the Jews so he forced a Jewish man to go to the conference with the offer to sell Jews for 250 USD per person, otherwise the first 40,000 Jews would be sent straight to the concentrations camps. The man was ridiculed and thrown out of the conference and no nation opened their borders", said the Mayor of Evian, Member of French Parliament, Marc Francina, who greeted the international guests to the event.

Among the guests were Member of European Parliament, Hannu Takkula of Finland and Member of Swedish Parliament Mikael Oscarsson. Other parliamentarians, from the House of Commons in London and the parliament in the Netherlands, had sent their personal messages to the event.

"Though Finland did not take part in the conference as such the government adapted the same negative position as the conference did", said MEP Hannu Takkula of Finland. "When a ship with 53 Jewish refugees tried to disembark in Helsinki on August 17, 1938 they were simply not allowed in to Finland though they had all their papers in order. On the ship was a mother who had just been given birth to a baby but the ship was sent back to Hamburg and the passengers were taken to concentration camps and ended up in the hands of the Nazis", said Takkula who as an elected leader of Finland asked for forgiveness on behalf of his country.

"Please remember that these men and women were no different than any of us", said former minister of the French government, Georgina Dufoix, referring to the delegates which gathered in Evian in 1938 and rejected the Jewish refugees. Ahmadinejad is no fool either, he is an intelligent man but he is influenced by the most vicious spirit of racism there is, namely anti-Semitism. "This is not just another form or racism but something much worse. We only have to look at all the great disasters in Europe over the last centuries to understand the true nature of this spirit", she said.

"The question is not whether the spirit of anti-Semitism will return to Europe or not, it is already here and we need to do something about it now while there is still time", said Eliyahu Ben-Haim from Jerusalem. "The question in 1938 is the same question that we are asking ourselves today. Would anyone be willing to stop Hitler where there were still time? The answer in Evian in 1938 was "no". But will Christians in Europe do anything to call their governments to stop Ahmadinejad today while there is still time? This is the question wee need to ask ourselves today in Evian 2009" , he said.

The gathering issued a strong call to the governments of Europe to understand the seriousness of the rise of anti- Semitism in Europe and the existential threat of Israel and to learn from the mistakes of Evian 1938.

In a private written message to the meeting the Italian Foreign minister Franco Frattini said: "We cannot underestimate the challenge of anti-Semitism, as the Western World did in 1938 at the Evian conference; we cannot allow ourselves to hesitate in firmly reacting to any indication that anti-Semitism is gaining ground. History clearly shows us that any hesitancy can pave the way to horrible tragedies."

"Our voice must be strong and uncontroversial about the new forms of anti-Semitism, that commonly manifest themselves in the guise of opposition to Zionism and the existence of the State of Israel", he concluded.

"May there be another voice coming out of Evian in 2009, one of determination and recommitment to the Jewish people and to the state of Israel", said the event organizer Tomas Sandell of the European Coalition for Israel. "Let us declare once and for all that Evian shall no longer only be known as the Evian of 1938 but as Evian of 2009."

"Let the spirit of Evian 2009 symbolize our commitment to learn from history and to stand up for the Jewish people at this critical time. Let Evian no longer only be known as the place which paved the way for the Holocaust but a place which is known for bringing peace and justice to the world", he said.

Source: European Coalition for Israel (a Christian initiative promoting European-Israeli Cooperation)

Related:
Evian 1938 - Geneva 2009, Tomas Sandell

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