"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.
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
Friday, 28 August 2009
Irish Catholic anti-Israel NGO to curtail West Bank activities
"Palestinians living in Gaza are being treated worse then animals in a zoo. Ireland must do everything we can to end Israel’s collective punishment of civilians, which is a flagrant breach of international law." (Justin Kilcullen, director of Trócaire - Trócaire press release, 25/01/2008)
___________
DUBLIN, Ireland (JTA) – A major Irish NGO that trains activists to oppose Jewish settlements is cutting back on its West Bank activity due to budget cuts.
Trócaire, a Catholic aid agency that is one of Ireland’s largest and most influential NGOs, announced it will reduce its presence in the West Bank following massive cuts in the Irish government’s overseas aid budget and a substantial drop-off in private donations. The group has been active in Gaza and the West Bank since 2002.
In Ireland, the group has used its public profile to campaign against the West Bank security fence, Jewish housing in the West Bank and in eastern Jerusalem, and Israeli military action against Hamas in Gaza. Earlier this year, Trocaire called for the suspension of EU-Israel Association Agreement.
In a report issued in March, the Israel-based watchdog NGO Monitor accused the group of helping to "fuel the conflict" through "one-sided activities." [Trócaire: Misdirected Catholic Aid from Ireland Fuels Conflict]
According to its most recent public accounts, the organization spends approximately $1.07 million per year on its Palestinian-related activities.
The Irish government cut its support of Trócaire by 22 percent. Private donations are down 10 percent, the group said.
___________
Justin Kilcullen, Director of Trócaire, the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland, AND head of CONCORD, the Brussels-based powerful European confederation of 1,600 NGOs across 21 countries for relief and development (the European Union generously provides funds to Trócaire and CONCORD) wrote:
"Gaza strip: An open air prison?"
"Last December I turned up at a border crossing leading from Israel to the infamous Gaza strip as part of a delegation of Catholic development agencies. I was looking forward to the visit, to seeing first-hand the situation in which thousands of Palestinians were living. But four hours later I walked away, together with half the group, refused entry by Israeli security because our papers for entry did not have the required approvals. While the Palestinians living within this small piece of land could not get out, I could not get in. (…)
Over 3,000 journalists are expected to descend on the Gaza strip in the coming days to watch the dismantling of the 17 settlements that have been occupied by roughly 8,000 Israeli settlers since the war in 1967."
From: Over 3000 journalists in Gaza: one Western journalist in Lhasa
___________
DUBLIN, Ireland (JTA) – A major Irish NGO that trains activists to oppose Jewish settlements is cutting back on its West Bank activity due to budget cuts.
Trócaire, a Catholic aid agency that is one of Ireland’s largest and most influential NGOs, announced it will reduce its presence in the West Bank following massive cuts in the Irish government’s overseas aid budget and a substantial drop-off in private donations. The group has been active in Gaza and the West Bank since 2002.
In Ireland, the group has used its public profile to campaign against the West Bank security fence, Jewish housing in the West Bank and in eastern Jerusalem, and Israeli military action against Hamas in Gaza. Earlier this year, Trocaire called for the suspension of EU-Israel Association Agreement.
In a report issued in March, the Israel-based watchdog NGO Monitor accused the group of helping to "fuel the conflict" through "one-sided activities." [Trócaire: Misdirected Catholic Aid from Ireland Fuels Conflict]
According to its most recent public accounts, the organization spends approximately $1.07 million per year on its Palestinian-related activities.
The Irish government cut its support of Trócaire by 22 percent. Private donations are down 10 percent, the group said.
___________
Justin Kilcullen, Director of Trócaire, the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland, AND head of CONCORD, the Brussels-based powerful European confederation of 1,600 NGOs across 21 countries for relief and development (the European Union generously provides funds to Trócaire and CONCORD) wrote:
"Gaza strip: An open air prison?"
"Last December I turned up at a border crossing leading from Israel to the infamous Gaza strip as part of a delegation of Catholic development agencies. I was looking forward to the visit, to seeing first-hand the situation in which thousands of Palestinians were living. But four hours later I walked away, together with half the group, refused entry by Israeli security because our papers for entry did not have the required approvals. While the Palestinians living within this small piece of land could not get out, I could not get in. (…)
Over 3,000 journalists are expected to descend on the Gaza strip in the coming days to watch the dismantling of the 17 settlements that have been occupied by roughly 8,000 Israeli settlers since the war in 1967."
From: Over 3000 journalists in Gaza: one Western journalist in Lhasa
Berlin exhibition: Hiding the truth about Husseini
"The grand mufti delivered a talk to the imams of the Bosnian SS division in 1944, and was a key Islamic supporter of Nazi Germany's destruction of European Jewry." Source: article by Benjamin Weinthal, JPost
The publicly funded Multicultural Center's (Werkstatt der Kulturen) decision to remove educational panels of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Muhammad Amin al-Husseini, who was an ally of Adolf Hitler, from an exhibit, sparked outrage on Thursday among a district mayor, the curator of the exhibit, and the Berlin Jewish community.
The curator, Karl Rössler, told The Jerusalem Post that it is a "scandal" that the director of the Werkstatt, Philippa Ebéné, sought to censor the exhibit.
"One must, of course, name that al-Husseini, a SS functionary, participated in the Holocaust," said Rössler.
The exhibit covers the "The Third World during the Second World War" and three exhibit panels of 96 are devoted to the mufti's collaboration with the Nazis. The grand mufti delivered a talk to the imams of the Bosnian SS division in 1944, and was a key Islamic supporter of Nazi Germany's destruction of European Jewry.
Ebéné denied that there was an "agreement " reached with the local German-Muslim community to shut down the exhibit. She termed media queries regarding an agreement as "Eurocentric." She told the Post that the exhibit was intended as a "homage to soldiers from African" countries who fought against the Nazis.
When asked about her opposition to the inclusion of the mufti panels, she asked, "was there ever a commemoration event in Israel to honor the [African] soldiers?"
Rössler was notified last Friday that Ebéné wanted to take out the panels dealing with the grand mufti, but he rejected her demand to remove them. Meanwhile, the exhibit in its uncensored version has been relocated to the Ufer Hallen gallery.
Maya Zehden, a spokeswoman for the 12,000-strong Berlin Jewish community, told the Post that Ebéné's rejection of the exhibit showed "intolerance," and a director who is "incapable of acting in a democratic" manner. Zehden urged that the Berlin government consider replacing Ebéné as director. Zehden also sharply criticized Günter Piening, Berlin's commissioner for integration and migration, for defending Ebéné's decision to censor the exhibit.
Piening told the large daily Tagesspiegel that, "We need, in a community like Neukölln, a differentiated presentation of the involvement of the Arabic world in the Second World War." Zehden termed his statement "an appeasement attempt" to ignore the fact that "there was no official resistance from the Arabic world against the persecution of Jews" during the Shoah.
She accused Piening of showing a false tolerance to German-Arabs in the neighborhood by not wanting to deal with disturbances from the local community. Piening issued conflicting statements to the Post. While denying his statement to the Tagesspiegel, he said, however, that his comment was stripped out of a context of quotes. He said the "reason" for the removal of the grand mufti panels dealt with a "misunderstanding of the background of the exhibit."
In an e-mail to the Post, Heinz Buschkowsky, the district mayor in Neukölln, where the exhibit was originally planned, wrote, it is a sign of "anticipatory obedience to avoid probable protests. I do not consider this position to be good."
He added that Piening's statement is a "repression of the facts dealing with anti-Semitism." The district mayor wrote that the center by its own "claim to stand for freedom, tolerance, and culture should be careful not to set off suspicion that it is imposing censorship."
National Socialism and Anti-Semitism in the Arab World, Matthias Küntzel, JCPA
Maryland historian links roots of radical Islam with Nazi propaganda
Elimination of the Jewish National Home in Palestine: The Einsatzkommando of the Panzer Army Africa, 1942, Klaus-Michael Mallmann and Martin Cüppers, Yad Vashem
Jeffrey Herf: The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust, review by Karl Pfeifer, Engage
The Mufti and the Holocaust, John Rosenthal on Der Mufti von Jerusalem und die Nationalsozialisten by Klaus Gensicke, Policy Review (The Hoover Institution)
Middle East Anti-Semitism, by Dr Denis MacEoin, A Liberal Defence of Israel blog
Abdel Aziz Rantisi: "the question is not what the Germans did to the Jews, but what the Jews did to the Germans"
Book: Hitler's Jihadis : Muslim Volunteers of the SS, by Jonathan Trigg
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Diakonia, a Swedish Christian NGO's anti-Israel obsession
"Diakonia is more a lobby group with a clear political agenda for the Middle East than a Christian aid organization. [...] In one single month, October 2008, Diakonia sponsored 10 articles in the Swedish media, nine of which dealt with the world's only Jewish country." (Ilya Meyer, Equal value of all human life?, Jerusalem Post, December 6, 2008)
NGO Monitor's "was sent to officials in Diakonia and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Diakonia responded that they would provide no comment; SIDA did not reply."
Diakonia is Sweden’s largest humanitarian NGO, receiving most of its budget from the Swedish government. Some of the organization’s programs appear to be genuine and important humanitarian projects. Diakonia’s Civil Society and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) programs overtly promote the Palestinian narrative, and fuel the conflict. Attributes "structural problems" in the conflict solely to the "continuing of the occupation," the "building of the Wall," and "the fragmentation of the Palestinian territory." The IHL website promotes a so-called "right to resist" and delegitimizes Israel’s right to self defense.
* Diakonia is Sweden’s largest humanitarian NGO, founded in 1966 by five Swedish churches. It receives most of its budget from the Swedish government (SIDA, SEK 332 million, ~$47.2 million).
* By promoting a "right to resist" (meaning terrorism) and delegitimizing Israel’s right to self-defense, the Civil Society and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) programs exploit and misrepresent international law.
* The IHL Program’s International Advisory Council is populated almost entirely with PLO advisors, Palestinians, and anti-Zionist Jewish activists.
* While some of the organization’s programs appear to be genuine and important humanitarian projects, the vast majority of resources are devoted to political campaigns, including a submission to the Goldstone Commission vilifying Israel and delegitimizing its right to defend itself against rocket attacks.
* Diakonia’s repetition of the Palestinian position refers to the "continuing of the occupation," the "building of the Wall," and "the fragmentation of the Palestinian territory" as "structural problems” behind the conflict. The pre-1967 history of terror, war and rejection of Israel’s right to exist are erased.
* The tendentious international law activities, including the Humanitarian Policy & Law Forum at Harvard University, receive more funding than any other program related to the region, and represent the only such political example in Diakonia’s worldwide activities.
* Many of Diakonia’s partners (Alternative Information Center, Sabeel, Al Haq, Al Mezan) are among the most extreme anti-Israel NGOs operating the region, employing inflammatory and, at times, antisemitic rhetoric.
* Enactment of NGO Monitor’s recommendations will provide more balanced coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Diakonia will also better serve the interests of the Palestinians, who deserve real help, not radical posturing.
* This report was sent to officials in Diakonia and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). Diakonia responded that they would provide no comment; SIDA did not reply.
"Diakonia is more a lobby group with a clear political agenda for the Middle East than a Christian aid organization.... In one single month, October 2008, Diakonia sponsored 10 articles in the Swedish media, nine of which dealt with the world's only Jewish country." (Ilya Meyer, Equal value of all human life?, Jerusalem Post, December 6, 2008)
Read the full NGO Monitor report on Diakonia here
- "Are we using European tax money to promote peace or hatred?", asks ECI director
- Sweden: Aftonbladet's accusations are anti-Semitic according to Council of Europe and OSCE classification
- Swedish government funds NGOs and anti-Semitism
- Behind the Humanitarian Mask: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia's anti-Israeli activities
- Swedish Christian NGO Diakonia totally obsessed with Israel
- Conservative Swedish FM Carl Bildt likens Netanyahu to Hamas
- Sweden: when incitement against Jews is allowed
- Swedish government funds fuel Mideast radical NGOs
- Nina Witoszek: Europe has learned little from history
- Al Haq: Europe funding anti-Israeli NGO
- European funding for the narrative war, Gerald Steinberg
- Swedish journalist looks for Swedish extremist Jews
Monday, 24 August 2009
Greek media singled out Israel for criticism, omitting the other country in the exercise, the US
"Greek media singled out Israel for criticism, omitting references to the other partner country in the exercise, the US. Eleftheros headlined its report "Israel questions our sovereignty over the Aegean" while Vradyni said: "Israelis ‘baptise’ Kastellorizo as ‘Turkish’".
The Israeli embassy in Athens has responded to criticism in the Greek media that Israel was taking Ankara’s part in the Greek-Turkish airspace dispute by saying that a reference in an online statement about a joint military exercise taking place in "Turkish" territory was an error.
Israel said that it had no role in the Greek-Turkish airspace dispute, according to the embassy statement, quoted by Greek daily Kathimerini. The controversy arose after an Israeli Defence Force (IDF) website statement referred to a joint military exercise by the United States, Israel and Turkey as to take place off the Dodecanese island of Kastellorizo in Turkish territory. The island is Greek territory. The incident happened amid a massive upsurge of Turkish air force aircraft entering airspace claimed by Greece.
The Israeli embassy said that it regarded Greece and Turkey both "as significant partners and allies... in the region."
Greece has claimed hundreds of incursions by Turkish aircraft into its airspace since the beginning of June 2009, with the Turkish air force jets in some cases flying low over Greek territory and, Athens alleges, endangering flight paths.
Earlier, after the initial IDF statement, Greek media singled out Israel for criticism, omitting references to the other partner country in the exercise, the US. Eleftheros headlined its report "Israel questions our sovereignty over the Aegean" while Vradyni said: "Israelis ‘baptise’ Kastellorizo as ‘Turkish’".
Read the whole piece here
The Israeli embassy in Athens has responded to criticism in the Greek media that Israel was taking Ankara’s part in the Greek-Turkish airspace dispute by saying that a reference in an online statement about a joint military exercise taking place in "Turkish" territory was an error.
Israel said that it had no role in the Greek-Turkish airspace dispute, according to the embassy statement, quoted by Greek daily Kathimerini. The controversy arose after an Israeli Defence Force (IDF) website statement referred to a joint military exercise by the United States, Israel and Turkey as to take place off the Dodecanese island of Kastellorizo in Turkish territory. The island is Greek territory. The incident happened amid a massive upsurge of Turkish air force aircraft entering airspace claimed by Greece.
The Israeli embassy said that it regarded Greece and Turkey both "as significant partners and allies... in the region."
Greece has claimed hundreds of incursions by Turkish aircraft into its airspace since the beginning of June 2009, with the Turkish air force jets in some cases flying low over Greek territory and, Athens alleges, endangering flight paths.
Earlier, after the initial IDF statement, Greek media singled out Israel for criticism, omitting references to the other partner country in the exercise, the US. Eleftheros headlined its report "Israel questions our sovereignty over the Aegean" while Vradyni said: "Israelis ‘baptise’ Kastellorizo as ‘Turkish’".
Read the whole piece here
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
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