Jerusalem Post wrote: Mar. 30, 2009
MAYA SPITZER , THE JERUSALEM POST
Anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment has exploded in Norway - driven by the Norwegian media and intellectual elite - due to Operation Cast Lead, according to Norwegian Jewish leaders.
During the war, Olso was fraught with violent anti-Israel demonstrations. Numerous government officials decried Israel's actions in Gaza - including Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen, who led a march shouting, "Death to the Jews!" Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert, who worked in Gaza and disseminated stories about Israel's brutality, became a national hero in the Norwegian media. Even before the war began, local Jews were tense because of anti-Semitic cartoons, recent boycotts of Israeli merchandise, and the highly publicized affair of Norwegian comic Otto Jespersen, who made anti-Semitic remarks on national television.
This wave continued with renowned Norwegian painter Håkon Gullvåg's opening a new exhibition entitled "Requiem for the Children of Gaza" in Trondheim over the weekend. The city's mayor, Rita Ottervik, applauded Gullvåg for accurately depicting the Gaza conflict. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg also commended Gullvåg for "painting pictures that place this [the plight of the Palestinians] on the agenda."
Kygell Nyhuus, secretary of the Norwegian Press Professional Association, told The Jerusalem Post recently that the Jespersen incident - in which the comedian's anti-Semitic remarks on the TV2 network were deemed "in bad conduct" earlier this year, and the network forced to publish an adjudication - was the first time satire had ever been censored in Norway.
"I don't see lots of anti-Semitism in Norway, though," Nyhuus said. "This is not at all indicative of anti-Semitism in Norway, and the decision itself had nothing to do with the anti-Semitic content of his comments - only the degree of their vulgarity."
However, according to Manfred Gerstenfeld, chairman of the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs, "the elite, the academics, politicians and media consider themselves to be great moralists, with very little self-introspection. Their self-righteousness, arrogance, and inherited Lutheran prejudices against Jews has led to a huge amount of anti-Israel sentiment. Gaza caused these latent feelings in society to come to the fore."
Rabbi Yoav Melchior, considered the leading rabbi of Norway, said he had been "very scared during the war."
"Hatred spread in a fast, dangerous way. This was blind emotionalism against Israel and against Jews. It gets deep at the heart of Norway's emotional anti-Semitism. The current wave of anti-Semitism shows what people have been holding inside them," he said.
Gerstenfeld, who authored and recently published Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic Countries, Israel, and the Jews, noted that "considering that there are only 700 Jews in a population of 4.6 million, there is a lot of hatred against Israel and the Jews."
Norway's government has been vocal in its criticism of Israel in recent months. At the outbreak of the Gaza hostilities, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre declared that "Norway strongly condemns any form of warfare that causes severe civilian suffering, and calls on Israel to withdraw its forces immediately."
In addition, "the Norwegians are pioneers in boycotting Israel," Gerstenfeld said, citing many Norwegian trade unions' affinity for supporting Palestinian interests at Israel's expense.
In an NGO Monitor report released March 12, Norway was found to have supported Palestinian humanitarian aid organizations for the past decade, including many that have pursued radical anti-Israel agendas. The report called this support for "boycotts and apartheid rhetoric instead of peace and coexistence."
According to Gerstenfeld, "because Norway is a very tiny country with a language most don't understand, nobody gives them much attention. Their anti-Semitism flew completely under the radar for a long time."
Now that the world is becoming aware of the situation in Norway, "the Norwegian elite won't get away with this incredible arrogance any longer," he asserted.
http://tundratabloid.blogspot.com/2009/ ... se-in.html
This is an article that has been published on Jerusalem Post's website, removed, re-published (changing the part where the Norwegian Finance Minister shouts "Death to the Jews" to her being part of a demonstration where it was shouted) it and now it's removed again. It was however copied by this blog (which seems pretty shady with a Geert Wilders ad).
This is not the first time I've heard about Jews and Israelis complaining about anti-Semitism in Norway in these times of war. A Jewish Norwegian journalist claims that Jewish children are under need of protection (though she doesn't know any Norwegian Jewish families personally) and has called a former prime minister advocating peace for the Palestinian people an "anti-Semite".
Norway is different to many other Western countries in that we show a stronger support for the Palestinian people than for example the US and Britain. We have a strong left wing that since the 70s-80s have supported the Palestinian people in their struggle against Israel, and in many ways it has become morally just to take the party of the poor civilians rather than support Israel's right to use military force to secure themselves. Very few supported Israel in during the Gaza war: Only nutters from Christians sects who are strongly anti-Islam went to demonstrate for Israel's right to fight. All kinds of people demonstrated to make Israel cease their attack in Gaza. With the sentiments against the war has also come sentiments against Israel: Few people (including myself) have much sympathy for the Israeli state; apparently "Jew" is being used more frequently as a cuss word among young Norwegians. Now while the last point is worrying, the first isn't.
I think the Israelis need to chill out. They seem to become more and fundamentalist in their thinking around the Palestine-Israel problem. More and more I see the Bush doctrine "Either you're with us, or you're with the enemy." The results of the election only strengthened this feeling - with a publicly declared racist getting his hands on powerful positions. It is now a democracy built on war, fear of their neighbours (and their own people, the Arab Israelis) and imperialism, in form of small groups of orthodox extremists without respect for property rights and protection from the Israeli army. The army's view on Palestinians has recently been uncovered by Haaretz, an Israeli paper, and it's not good news. It seems any criticism of the Israeli government is an attack at the idea of the Israeli state, and is automatically support of Hamas, Iran and other groups that want to see Israel gone. Thus Israel tries to force Western countries to choose side; Norway has maintained their line of talking with both parts, and this article is our govt's reward from Jerusalem Post. Hopefully, our govt will never let itself be forced to take Israel's side against the Palestinian people (though we're doing that already, by selling ammunition to Israel).
While Norwegians need to focus on anti-War not becoming anti-Jew, Israelis need to open their eyes and see that what their government is doing is wrong. Having a go at one of the world's most peaceful democracies is simply a distraction, and to be quite frank rather dumb. Criticism against war is necessary, whereever it is, and I hope Norwegians will continue to show strong support for the Palestinian people
