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Document.no is more than a blog, it is a community. Whatsmore it is intelligent, well-mannered and subsequently growing, which makes a lot of people somewhat worried. Document.no now offers a lengthy post on Norwegian author Eirik Eiglad’s book “The anti-jewish riots in Oslo”. Unauthorized translation from Pogroms in Oslo:
Researchers and the police can say: “But surely this is not islamism? We find no ideological consciousness”. This is correct, but contemporary demonstrations have become “events”. Gaza becomes an excuse, the media deliver the visuals which are strong enough to legitimize anything. When Stavanger Aftenblad prints the picture of the girl’s hand and the little head lying in the ruins, this nutures the hatred. Gaza grows, with every article and every picture. Gaza becomes a balloon, steadily inlfating. Is this not worse than the Warsaw-ghetto, as Mads Gilbert said, live from Gaza.
Cities in Western Europe have received a large contingent of youth who feels entitled to smash the city whenever “somethings up”, and the left is reduced to indignation, to understand and to pity, to justify almost anything.
Oslo on January 8th 2010 was thus an omen. There will be more and worse. January 8th ought to have made us open our eyes and ask: what the heck is going on? But this did not happen.
Stanghelle’s concerns are therefore not believable. If he had meant anything with his concerns he would have used the newspaper to document that Jewhatred is spreading thoughout Europe. It wins its way and acceptance.
The circle has been joined: muslims arrive in Europe and bring Jewhatred with them. If Europe meant business with her committment, Europeans would strive for being balanced in the Middle East. But this is not happening. To the contrary. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has on behalf of Norway taken many steps towards Hamas and is chilly towords Israel.
During his visit to Israel in January he said that certain forces in Insrael were waging a campaign against Noway. With regards to his endorsement of Gilbert and Fosse’s book, he had simply praised them for what they saw and experienced!
“There are references to anti-Israel sentiments in the Israeli press, and I see part of that as a campaign, which is being organized and orchestrated from circles who point out enemies of Israel [in Norway],” Store told Haaretz during a visit to Jerusalem on Monday. He refused to speculate who he thinks is behind the campaign.Rejecting criticism over his contribution to the back cover of the controversial book, Store said he merely applauded the authors for speaking up about what they saw, without judging the validity of their conclusions. In the book, which contains eyewitness testimony by two Norwegian physicians in Gaza during Cast Lead, the physicians, Mads Gilbert and Erik Fosse, accused Israel of perpetrating a “systematically implemented and comprehensive massacre.”
“What I said was that during the Gaza war, all independent press was closed out and that when there is no coverage, the first victim is the truth,” Store said. “I believe that these doctors … reported what they saw. I believe that was important.”
To say that Gilbert and Fosse were representatives of the independent press and only reported what they say, is audacious. The man who provides them with this acclaim is the same man who financed their mission.
Gahr Støre insists on his decency, and is provoked if anyone questions it. But he appears to regard it the same way he regards his suit: if it fits well, is ironed, etc. For Gahr Støre it is all about keeping up the pretence, about not being caught red-handed.
Document.no writes in the same article about how Mr.Eiglad has been interviewed on Dagsnytt 18, a radio and television show. That’s good news.
On the other hand Sweden, Israel and the Jews is relaying bad news out of neighbouring Sweden – an Anti-Zionist Party has been formed. As Document.no correctly points out, anti-Israelism has merged with anti-Semitism and we see it from Reykjavik in Iceland to Malmö in Sweden and beyond.
Whoever you are and whatever it is that you are doing, stay beutiful and keep up the good fight.
Anyone concerned for the re-emergence of anti-Semitism in Scandinavia who is not reading Sweden, Israel and the Jews is robbing themselves blind. If you follow Sweden, this is the place to go. Ilya Meyer has a larger archive. On the other hand Norwegian newspapers, with exception being made for Aftenposten, are not particularly interested in Malmö at all. Why is that?
Excerpt from Sweden, Israel and the Jews:
One of those exposed to anti-Semitic hate crime is Rabbi Shneur Kesselman of the Malmö Jewish community. He states in an interview with Expressen on March 5th that “ever since I came here people have been shouting ‘fucking Jew’ and ‘heil Hitler’ at me.”
Remember that next time you read a Astrid Lindgren novel. Now everbody out there, stick up for your fellow man.Yes, that means you.
That’s right.
The University of Oslo wants to fire a history professor – appearently for having violated its health, environment and safety (HES) code. Protesters say this has nothing to do with HES and everything to do with the Univeristy curtailing the freedom of expression of its staff. One of the protestors is Professor of Law Jan Fridthjof Bernts, who in the context of this strife has stated: “It is better to lose in a court of appeal than to be like the Jews, who themselves wrote the lists over whom were to be killed in the concentration camps“.
Morgenbladet covers the story in an editorial headed “Beware, Professor“. Yet it is not altogether clear which professor is being cautioned. Obviously it should be the one who says that Jews themselves wrote the lists of whom were to die. They did no such thing. The Nazis wrote out the lists, which included every single man, woman and child of the Jewish people. What Professor Bernts probably means to say is that in the defence of the freedom of speech, it is better to hang together and fight all the way through the courts rather than hang seperately. Yet this does not make any sense either, the European Jews did not hang seperately either. They were not persecuted as individuals, but almost wiped out as a people.
This is very strange.
Let us write Morgenbladet’s editor Alf van der Hagen and ask for help.
 Norwegian comedian Thomas Seltzer. Picture from NRK P3. In 2006 funnyman Otto Jespersen demonstrated his courageous wit by torching the Bible. When asked why he did not burn the Koran, he replied: “We considered that too, but could not get hold of a copy. What is more I am 52 years old now and reckon that I still have twenty more good years to live” (Bt.no).
Today, on the very same day as several Swedish newspapers are publishing Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilk’s drawings of Muhammed-as-a-dog in solidarity with the recently uncovered assassination plot agains the cartoonist’s life, Norwegian funnymen are again displaying their fear-driven respect for Islam. The NRK (State Channel) humor program Trygdekontoret (Benefits Office) has chosen to censor a cartoon of Muhammed they originally considered displaying during their show. The drawing they will display instead will be a blackened-out version of the original, and will as such not be in mockery of anything except the humor program itself. Unauthorized translation from NRK.no:
- It is first and foremost out of pure fear for reprisals from radical islamists that we have decided not to display the cartoon, says program leader Thomas Seltzer to NRK.no.
Unauthorized translation from Dagbladet.no:
Today program leader Thomas Seltzer says that “Benefits Office” editors alone have decided to censor the cartoon when it is displayed this evening.
- We stood at a crossings with signs pointing in two directions. There were two cities we could visit: the one is called “be hung and have your throat slit”, the other city is named “safety, joy and cowardice”, says Seltzer.
- So you admit that you are cowards not to display the Muhammed cartoon?
- We have to admit it, says Seltzer.
This is an interesting turn of events. We are so often told that we do not have radical islamism in Norway – only some few isolated extremist individuals. So why are Norwegian funnymen censoring themselves? Who are they afraid of?
Hey, look over your shoulder.
Israel is violating humanitarian law!
–Det er først og fremst av ren frykt for represalier fra radikale islamister at vi har bestemt oss for ikke å vise tegningen, sier programleder Thomas Seltzer til NRK.no
 Verdens Gang (VG) - Norway's largest daily Verdens Gang (VG) is Norway’s largest daily. In today’s editorial the newspaper claims that the Bishops Boycott is, pretty much, a walk down nonsense street. Unauthorized translation:
We believe that the Bishops ought to bury the though of a boycott of trade as soon as possible. They receive the same encouragement from Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in yesterday’s VG. He is invited to the upcoming Bishops-meeting, and if we know the Foreign Minister right, he will repeat his resistance – in detail and forecefully.
The proposal received the wholehearted support of doctor and Palestine-activist Mads Gilbert, who became known over large parts of the world during the bombing of Gaza last year. He says that the Bishops are on the right track as opposed to Støre, and believes that a boycott is what Israel fears the most. But in this context it is farfetched of Gilbert to compare with the fight against apartheid and the boycott of South-Africa – one of the few international boycotts to have worked.
It is interesting to see how VG refers to the Hamas-Israel war as “the bombing of Gaza”. VG would not refer to the war on Nazi-Germany as “the bombing”, rather they would refer to it as WWII. As for Norway’s contribution to ISAF in Afghanistan, it’s not even a war, far less a “bombing”. Norway’s ISAF presence is a “peace effort”.
Eufemisms for Norway then, but not for Israel.
 Qassam rockets: from Ynet news Dagbladet reports on how freelancing journalist Yngvild Mortensen has her knickers in a twist as Israel refuses to grant her press accreditation. The reason Ms.Mortensen is not getting one is because she is a freelancer, and not in steady employ. When one looks back upon the long series of biased journalist that Ms.Mortensen has delivered however, one cannot help but wonder whether the truly remarkable aspect of this story is that any newspaper can actually bring itself to actually buy any of her copy. Here is a taste of the material Ms.Mortensen delivers (Unauthorized translation from Dagbladet 2007):
It is horribly stupid to fire Qassam-rockets, but the rockets are not at the core of the problem. Has Johansen forgotten that the Westbank is occupied? Is he not aware that Gaza is occupied, as head of UNRWA John Ging stated in an interview here in this newspaper a few days ago? What does our government believe about an occupied people’s right to use arms in order to obtain self-determination?
The rocketattacks against civilian and military targets in Israel is not blind terrorism carried out by violence-glorifying people. The wobbly, homemade rockets are an expression of deep frustration and hopelessness generated by 60 years of refugee status for those who were driven out during the war in 1947-49 and 40 years of occupation of the Westbanka nd Gaza. And, maybe more than anything else the rockets are a source of income in an area with an economy which is, in Foreign Ministry-lingo, “severly strained”, or as we say “driven into the ditch”.
The above is just an illustrative sample. And no, it’s not a reader’s comment to the Guardian, this is from a journalistic piece which Yngvild Mortensen very well may have received monies for. Shockingly, this just might be how she makes a living.
It just defies reason.
Det er fryktelig dumt å skyte Qassam-raketter, men det er ikke rakettene som er kjernen i problemet. Har Johansen glemt at Vestbredden er okkupert? Er han ikke klar over at Gaza er okkupert, slik UNRWA-sjef John Ging fastslo i et intervju her i avisa for noen dager siden? Hva mener vår regjering om et okkupert folks rett til å bruke våpen for å oppnå selvbestemmelse?
Rakettangrepene mot sivile og militære mål i Israel er ikke blind terror utført av voldsglorifiserende mennesker. De hjemmelagde vinglete rakettene er et uttrykk for dyp frustrasjon og håpløshet generert gjennom 60 års flyktningtilværelse for dem som ble fordrevet under krigen i 1947–49 og 40 år med okkupasjon av Vestbredden og Gaza. Og, kanskje mer enn noe annet er rakettene en inntektskilde i et område med en økonomi som er, på UD-språk, «hardt presset», eller på vanlig, «kjørt i grøfta».
 Dagbladet attributes this picture to Gaza, by Reuters, Elilana Aponte and Scanpix. The picture above is from an article in Dabladet titled “New peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians“. The first half hour the picture did not have any explaining subtext, which easily might have lead readers to believe the picture shows an Israeli kicking a Palestinian. After thirty minutes however, the following text was supplied:
Not so peaceful: It is far from peaceful in the occupied territories. Here a Palestinian security guard kicks a Palestinian stone-thrower during a demonstration in Gaza. FOTO: Reuters/Eliana Aponte/Scanpix.
There are two things about the picture which suggests that it is not from Gaza: 1) The policeman is wearing a badge showing the PA insignia 2) the graffiti on the wall, which looks like the security fence, is in English. Both point to the Westbank rather than Gaza.
NIJ wrote one of the two journalists behind the piece, Christian Bråtebekken, and inquired. He replied that according to Reuters the picture is from Gaza.
Norwegian Bishops have come up with the idea that boycotting Israel just might be a fine idea.
Foreign Minister Jonas Ghar Støre is opposed to a boycott and says so in today’s Verdens Gang – Norway’s largest daily. Unauthorized translation: – It is good that the Church speaks out for the opprssed, but the Church’s main advantage lies in the ability to create dialogue between religious groups. If one choosed to boycott, one may easily land in a difficult situation, by selecting one country one wants to boycott, rather than others, Støre points out.
Co-author of “Eyes in Gaza” Mads Gilbert speaks out in the same article, voicing support for the Bishops and criticizing Støre. VG informs that Dr.Gilbert has just returned from a tour in the USA where he is working with Christian communities willing to boycott Israel. The good doctor says: – We have tried dialogue for so many years, and it has only strengthened Israel’s position. A boycott, on the other hand, is what Israel fears more than anything.
Meanshile Bishop Tor B. Jørgensen, who is fronting this latest Norwegian boycott-debate, says he is willing to listen to Støre but that he also has to take into account the expressed wishes of Christian leaders in the Middle East, who have asked him to contemplate a boycott. The leaders Bishop Jørgensen refers to are among other Palestinian Anglican Naim Ateek of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, who supports a one-state solution and is as keen on using anti-Semitic imagery – as when speaking of the “Israeli government crucifixion system – as he is on fighting Christian Zionism – which he believes ought to be done by “de-Zionizing” the bible. Read more on NGO monitor.
Bishop Jørgensen is meeting resistance from Christian Democrat Hans Olav Syversen. In Dagenmagazinet Mr.Syversen states: “It seems as if Israel is being measured from a completely different standard”, adding that the boycott weapon is not to be rattled easily and that the bishops hopefully will park this idea.
 DagenMagazinet For Vebjørn Selbekk “freedom of expression” is more than just words, as is “courage”. After publishing an article on the cartoon-war in 2006, he became embroiled in it himself, receiving only luke-warm support from the Norwegian intelligensia and political establishment as he stood up for his editorial right to publish news-stories on relevant contemporary affairs. From the sound of his editorial in today’s Dagenmagazinet, it does not appear that Mr.Selbekk is hugely impressed by Bishop Tor B. Jørgensen’s attempts at engineering a “Bishop’s Boycott”.
Unauthorized translation:
The Bishop of Sør-Hålogaland Tor B. Jørgensen has put his thinking-hat on, the newspaper Nordland tells us. But it is not a difficult theological issue or the question of how the Church is to spread the gospel that the Bishop is struggling with.
No, Jørgensen is considering whether to support a boycott of Israeli goods. Together with the other Bishops Jørgensen has recently been to Israel and the Palestinian territories. It is especially the situation of the Palestinian Christians which upset the Bishop.
- A boycott of Israel is a measure in accordance with the non-violent line, says Jørgensen to the newspaper.
Regardless of what Jørgensen says, going in for a boycott of Israel is an extreme stance in the political realities of today’s Norway. Even the extremely Israel-critical party the Socialist Left has now in practice abandoned the boycott-policy.
In 2006 Kristin Halvorsen had to apologize to the Norwegian people for having endorsed such a move. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre had tutored her on what a Norwegian minister may and may not do.
And it was the Socialist Left’s Minister of Higher Education Tora Aasland who last year had to educate the board at NTNU in Trondheim on how an academic boycott of Israel is not something which may or shall be introduced by and public Norwegian institution.
In today’s situation we actually have to move far out on the utmost left-wing in Norwegian politics, all the way to the revolutionary party Rødt (Red) in order to find someone who stands for such a policy.
So in Norway we have Bishops who side with Mads “Eyes of Gaza” Gilbert, Erik “from Marxism to Islam” Fosse, and their holocaust-distortionist friends. Being Norwegian is no honor these days, that’s for sure. If it were not for the likes of Vebjørn Selbekk, it would be downright shamefull.
Make sure to visit Tundra Tabloids for more on the Bishops.
The Russel Tribunal for Palestine is supported by among other Ilan Pappe, Ken Loach and John Pilger. There is also a Norwegian onboard, Mr. Johan Galtung – above behind the rostrum at what appears to be a Turkish university. Below you see a section from a transcript from his lecture, where Mr.Galtung identifies Israel’s policies as a “replay of the Warsaw ghetto“. Mr. Galtung states that this is “psychologically easy to understand“.
One may glean a modest measure of Mr.Galtung’s wisdom by studying this section in Norwegian daily Aftenposten, where the academic suggests how to solve a number of problems: Issues related to Israel are best solved at a Munich-type conference where the USA may participate only as an observer, the West may best seek its peace with the Islamists by apologizing for the crusades, WWII was mainly caused by the unfairness of the Versailles treaty, etc.
“Trondheim is GALTUNGLAND”
In November in 2009 the international academic community pleaded with Norwegian University NTNU (in Trondheim) that they not boycott Israel. At the time, a knowledgable Canadian remarked on the SPME’s counter-boycott call:” Trondheim is GALTUNGLAND“.
If only Mr.Galtung was alone. Yet he is not the only starry-eyed dreamer seeking solutions to problems far beyond his means of understanding – there is an entire host of people like him out and about. As Robin Shephard correctly points out in his book “A nation beyond the Pale”, standing up to people like Mr.Galtung has less to do with Israel than it has with the soul of Europe. What sort of nations are we, what are our values, and what are we willing to sacrifice in order to keep them?
 Iceland - a great little island society Iceland is a great little island mainly populated by decent and hardworking people. It is also home to a talk-show host who is “horrified” by Israel, refuses to elaborate on why, and calls NIJ an “idiot-site” for asking. Meanwhile the French are watching, wondering what on earth we are up to here in Ultima Thule (The utmost north).
From JUIF.org, translated by Philosemitism:
“Il n’y a rien de nouveau dans le fait que les Européens soient horrifiés par Israël – on pourrait même dire qu’être horrifié par Israël est une tradition européenne.”
Alors que l’Islande fait actuellement la une des journaux (Les Islandais rejettent l’accord Icesave), cette petite histoire très intéressante nous éclaire sur une “obsession” bien européenne qui affecte également certains Islandais: la haine décomplexée d’Israël.
Source: Norway, Israel and the Jews (Iceland communication break-down:Icelandic talk-show host ‘horrified’ by Israel)
Egill Helgason est l’animateur de télévision le mieux payé d’Islande. Il dirige un programme littéraire ainsi qu’un programme hebdomadaire sur la chaîne nationale RUV, Silfur Egils (L’argent de Egils) auquel tous ceux qui comptent en Islande aspirent à être invités. D’autres Islandais le considèrent comme un “imbécile prétentieux”.
Egill Helgason est “horrifié” par Israël
Christian Tau, l’adminstrateur du site Norway, Israel and the Jews (NIJ), a remarqué qu’Egill Helgason avait écrit un article en 2005 sur les Juifs et Israël. Etant incapable de lire l’islandais et ne voulant pas se fier aux resources de traduction du Web, il s’adressa directement à l’auteur pour qu’il l’éclaire sur le contenu de son article. La réponse fut brève. Si brève qu’elle tenait en une une seule phrase :
“Être horrifié par la façon dont Israël traite les Palestiniens n’est pas de l’antisémitisme”.
Christian Tau observe: “Il n’y a rien de nouveau dans le fait que les Européens soient horrifiés par Israël – on pourrait même dire qu’être horrifié par Israël est une tradition européenne”.
Il laissa un commentaire sur le site du journaliste islandais :
“J’espère que vous aurez l’occasion de traduire votre article et qu’alors nous serons peut-être en mesure de débattre de ces questions au cas où nos points de vue divergeraient”.
A aucun moment il ne suggéra que M. Helgason était antisémite. Il s’était tout simplement borné à marquer son intérêt pour l’article. Mais sa remarque n’a pas plu à Egills Helgason qui a posté la réponse suivante (aimablement traduite par un autre ressortissant islandais, M. Vilhjalmsson) :
“Je ne me donne pas la peine de répondre à cet individu qui, me semble-t-il, administre un site passablement idiot, dans lequel, en dépit des atrocités commises par les Israéliens en Palestine, leur dénonciation est assimilée à de l’anti-sémitisme.
Christian conclut :
“Il y a en Islande l’animateur d’un talk-show qui, dans la meilleure tradition européenne, est non seulement “horrifié par Israël”, mais est réticent à en expliquer les raisons. De surcroît, il considère que le site NIJ est idiot. Voilà où nous en sommes arrivés. Mais une chose est certaine. A l’avenir, “ce site idiot” prêtera un peu plus attention à ce qui se passe en Islande. Et peut-être qu’Egill Helgason m’invitera à son talk-show, Silfur Egils.
Everyone who has had the opportunity to visit Iceland says it is a beutiful place, and that its inhabitants have built an impressive society under what must be one of the world’s most demanding set of conditions. Iceland cannot be blamed if one of their talk-show hosts is a perhaps a bit obessed with Israel and rude to anonymous bloggers such as myself. But the problem is not Egill Haraldson. Egill Haraldson is only a symptom of a disease which again seems to be clutching at the heart of Europe, rearing its head in Oslo on January 8th, in Malmö today, in your home town tomorrow.
Egill Haraldson is not alone.
 Aftenposten: Norway's second largest newspaper Aftenposten today covers anti-Semitism in Malmö in Sweden with the article “Jew-hatered has reappaered in Malmö“. The article tells of how; a) a Holocaust survivor has been called a lier by Malmö-schoolchildren b) the mayor Ilmar Reepalu has denied that Jews have been attacked, that it is no business of the city if Jews chose to leave, and that if it makes him look like an anti-Semite for saying so then it’s the Israel-Lobby’s fault and c) how the active anti-Semites are not Swedish right-wingers but Muslim immigrants of Middle Eastern origin.
The article has several noticeable features:
1) It is in print and runs across the entire centrefold in the main section of the newspaper – Norway’s second largest.
2) It unapologetically empahsizes who the anti-Semites in Malmö are – a minority of the immigrant muslims of Middle East origin.
3) It demonstrates a remarkable high level of historical insight – when remarking on how Malmö mayor Ilmar Reepalu blames allegations of anti-Semitism on the “Israel-Lobby”, Aftenposten’s journalist points out how the idea of the “Israel-Lobby” easily blends in with the ancient libel of the “Jewish conspiracy”. This is impressive, not many Norwegian journalists are willing to identify this relationship, or even suggest that it bear some legitimacy.
4) It demonstrates a remarkably high level of insight in contemporary affairs – pointing out how the demonstration against the Davis cup in Malmö last year, when riots ensued in protest against Israel’s participation, has been said to have enouraged anti-Semitism. Where other commentators will see only two isolated incidents, Aftenposten is today at least willing to acknowledge the possibility that there is a pattern.
Too little, too late
Critics will say “too little, too late”, and many will agree with them. For too long has the Norwegian media insisted that anti-Semitism must not be confused with legitimate criticism of Israel. East is east and west is west, they have told us, and never the twain shall meet. For fear of encouraging Islamophobia the liberal media- it is felt by many – has hesitated in exposing negative traits and aspects of the muliticultural society which may be directly traced to sements of the muslim population.
Yet today’s article “Jew-hatred reappears in Malmö” falls in neither of these traps. It at least indicates that the dividing line between legitimate criticims and anti-Semitism may at times blur over, and it identifies the heart of the problem as beating within a minority of Malmö-muslims of Middle Eastern origin. You cannot reasonably expect more than this (and perhaps it is unadvaisable to do so), not from one single article. Not in Norway, not today.
Who knows, but in time and with enough of this kind of reporting, the Nordic societies might even be able to address their growing social ills.
 Bishop Solveig Fiske finds it "natural" to contemplate a boycott of Israel Here we go again.
Virtually every week, some Norwegian will demand that action be taken against Israel. Not against Saudi Arabia, no. Not against Egypt or Syria or Bahrain, no. Iran, sometimes. Israel, always. Politicians, newspapermen and activists… the number of people horrified by Israel is legion. The public sphere echoes with their calls for boycott, for court proceedings, for punishment, for chastisement of some sort.
Now the bishops are having a go at it.
The Bishops’ Boycott
Bishop Tor B.Jørgensen recently told the press that he was considering a private boycott of Israeli goods. The Norwegian daily Vårt Land now informs us that several of his colleagues find this a sterling idea and just might join him. Unauthorized translation from Vårt Land:
The Norwegian bishops were in January on a round tour in the Middle East during which they had conversations with an array of political and religious leaders, among them Christian Palestinians who encouraged to a boycott of Israeli goods.
Earlier this week the Bishop of Sør-Hålogaland Tor B. Jørgensen publically went out and said that he considered a boycott of Israeli goods. Now he is receiving support from several other bishops.
– This is a problem which is highly relevant, says Bishop Tor Singsaas in Nidaros to Verdens Gang (Norway’s largest daily).
– This is a challenge we have brought with us from the Middle East and it is natural that this be one of several measures to be considered, says Bishop Solveig Fiske in Hamar.
Bishops sage and brave?
The issue of the Bishops’ Boycott raises quite a few questions, among other: 1) Which political and religous leaders did they speak to during their travels in the Middle East? 2) Why is boycotting Israel a more pressing concern than boycotting any other nation in the Middle East, for example Saudi Arabia, which scores lower on all of the traits which Norwegians are in favor of? 3) Why is it natural for Norwegian clergymen to consider a boycott of exactly Israel?
The most amazing aspect of the Bishops’ Boycott is that the bishops involved are likely to think themselves very sage and brave indeed.
Egill Helgason is the best paid talk-show host on Iceland. He runs a literary program as well as a weekly program on the State Television RUV called Silfur Egils (The silver of Egils), to which all major Icelandic players aspire to be invited, even though an Icelandic source informs us that many Icelanders regard Mr.Egils is a “pompous fool”.
Egill Helgason “horrified” by Israel
In 2005 Mr.Helgason wrote an article about Jews and Israel. Since I am unable to read Icelandic – even though it bears some similarity to Norwegian – and I in this case did not trust the online translating resources, I wrote directly to Mr.Helgason and inquired as to what his article was about. Mr.Egils responded with the one single sentence:
“Being horrified by how Israel treats the Palestinians is not anti semitism“.
Now there is nothing new about Europeans being horrified with Israel, some would point out that being horrified by Israel is actually a European tradition. As it happens, I never even suggested that Mr. Helgason was an anti-Semite. I merely expressed interest in his article.
I received an even less welcoming response on his website, where I suggested:
I hope that you will find the opportunity to have your article translated, and that we perhaps will be able to argue the issues if we find that we are in less than perfect agreement.
Mr.Egills wasn’t having it, however, and posted the following in response (kindly translated by another Icelandic national, Mr.Vilhjalmsson):
I didn’t bother responding to this man, while it seems to me it is some kind of a idiot-site he runs, where the despite for the atrocities of the Israelis in Palestine are equalled with anti-Semitism.
NIJ is “idiot-site”
Summing it all up then, there is a talk-show host in Iceland who is in the best European tradition is “horrified by Israel“, is reluctant to elaborate on why, and considers NIJ to be an “idiot-site”. This where we stand as of now. One thing is certain – this “idiot-site” will pay more attention to Iceland in the future.
Maybe Mr.Helgason will invite us to his talk-show Silfur Egills.
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