Here is an excerpt from the most recent ECI newsletter. Four new members in the European Parliament who can make a difference for Israel The “Pray and Vote 2009” campaign did make a difference. After carefully studying the results from the European Parliament elections we have concluded that the Lord (together with the voters)...
Norway, Israel and the Jews
- Happy 17th of MayOnce more, we gather under our flag to celebrate our freedom. Each 17th of May, the Jewish community in Oslo organize a formal and serene commemoration of Henrik Wergeland, the son of one of the member of the Constituent Assembly for our Constitution. In its original version, our Constitution was shamed by the exclusion of Jews and Jesuits in Norway, som […]
- “Minister of justice” to Jews in Oslo: too badThe synagogue in Oslo – already one of the most fortified structures in Norway – applied to the government for additional funds to secure its congregation. They asked for NOK 21 million but got NOK 7 million. After all the speeches Støre and Stoltenberg with no end to the flowery assurances, this is what it comes down to: Jews should be content feeling prett […]
- The Jewish Community in Oslo applied for NOK 21 million for security measures, only got NOK 7,2lifted from Vårt Land Synagogues receive NOK 7.2 million for security The money goes towards securing doors, upgrade the monitoring system and setting up a security fence. The Government proposes in the revised national budget to allocate 7.2 million forsecurity at the Jewish Religious Community (DMT). - No one should have to be afraid to exercise their rel […]
- Letter from a 17-year old Jewish boyAftenposten today published an op-ed from “Daniel,” a 17-year old Norwegian student who happens to be Jewish. He feels surrounded by antisemitic attitudes, ranging from comments by a fellow video game player (“just pretend they’re Jews when you aim at them”), to the inevitable “so you support killing babies?” when he mentions he supports Israel, to the inabi […]
- PalCom action ‘small and unsuccessful’lifted from miff.no Palestine Committee’s action was “small and unsuccessful” Only a small number of provocateurs from Palestine Committee participated in a store action against Israel’s Dead Sea products in Oslo last Tuesday (May 16) evening. The police were notified in advance and got them quickly away from the place. By Conrad Myrland Published: 16/05/201 […]
- VG’s Astrid Meland attacks Pal activists and media for unethical focus on IsraelAstrid Meland published an OpEd in VG on May 14, which currently is not online. MIFF has published a review article online, from where I have lifted the following: Astrid Meland believes Israel’s critics in Norway are victim of a collective neurosis, where you turn a blind eye to much worse breaches of human rights by other states. - Unethical focus on Isra […]
- Stand up, stand up – for the Hebrew MamitaIf I were a man, I would seriously consider inviting this lady out for dinner. Since I am not, I can only say – WAY TO GO, SISTER! linkscolor = "000000"; highlightscolor = "888888"; backgroundcolor = "FFFFFF"; channel = "none"; […]
- Oopsie – Norwegian academia has become synonymous with academic anti-Semitismlifted from ynetnews.com This is the cost of allowing a guy like Galtung to roam free – regardless of round rejection of his recent remarks, this was by no means the first time the ‘mad professor’ let it rip, as is evident by the details of this op-ed. Why did not the Norwegian intelligentia react at an earlier stage? Did they perhaps agree with the previous […]
- Gloves are off: MIFF (With Israel for Peace) reports the PalCom to the policeLifted from miff.no What can I say? Bravo! MIFF is doing an incredibly important job and luckily their hard efforts are rewarded with a healthy growth in their memberships. Maybe readers of this blog could be entreated to find a way of supporting MIFF? By the way, I have no relation to MIFF, personally or professionally – this is just a courtesy call to reco […]
- What Karsten Tveit’s award really signifiesOdd Karsten Tveit wins the Gullruten lifetime award for his propaganda news coverage from the Middle East. When it comes to correspondents in the Middle East sent by NRK (the governmental broadcasting organization financed by a surcharge on owning a television), it’s a bit like watching the Eurovision song contest: you can endlessly discuss who is worse. Bu […]
Archive for August, 2009
Norwegians fighting for Al-Shabab – Somalia
Here is a strange story, far too close for comfort – these days, Oslo boys are going to Somalia to fight. Here is an unauthorized translation from the Norwegian News Agency (NTB), here from the christian newspaper DagenMagazinet: – Norwegians recruited by Somalian Islamists At least 13 youths from Oslo are to have been...
Facebook: Trettebergstuen and the non-existent “Israeli newspaper”
Imagine that an Israeli politician reads an Israeli blog and gets the impression that she is being persecuted by a Norwegian newspaper. Imagine that the Israeli politician proceeds to alert Israel of this erroneous conclusion through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Now picture how Norwegians, watching all of this, would react....
Anette Trettebergstuen confuses Norwegian blog with Israeli newspaper
We all make mistakes. All the time. But what if an Israeli politician, say Lieberman, had made the mistake Anette Trettebergstuen just made, and mistaken an Israeli blog for a Norwegian newspaper? What if a journalist had snooped that up and built a little story around it? Remember in March, how tolerant Norwegians were...
The Guardian on Hamsun: Norwegian Wood
The Guardian, Saturday August 8th, journalist Jonathan Glancey covers the contemporary Hamsun debate in the article Norwegian Wood. Glancey is one of the few journalists to pick up on the invitation of Bodil Børset (Hamsun Centre) to Efraim Zuroff (Wiesenthal Centre). In this invitation, which was issued as a letter (in Norwegian) to Aftenposten...
The Independent: Nobel Prize Winner Fell for Hitler
Although the debate over Knut Hamsun is an international one, the Norwegian Hamsun debate appears to be an in-house affair. Norwegian newspapers make little mention of foreign perspectives on the issues raised. When foreign criticism is mentioned, it is usually angrily rejected, as when Aftenposten states that the thoughts of the “Israeli far right…...
Huffington Post: Will the real Norway please stand up?
August 5th, 2009; Huffington Post runs the article Fighing or whitewashing nazism: Will the real Norway please stand up, by Rabbi Abraham Cooper. Now Norway is not an easily accessible country for foreigners, because of the language barrier. It is therefore only to be expected that foreigners attempting to understand Norway will experience some difficulty...
Book review: Behind the Humanitarian Mask
Here is a book review by Moshe Yegar, a former Israeli ambassador to Sweden, printed in Israel Today, a scholarly journal. Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic Countries, Israel and the Jews. Edited by Manfred Gerstenfeld. Jerusalem, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, 2008. 256 pages....
Norwegian political parties and Israel: The Conservatives
The Conservatives are lukewarm about what appears to be an increasing number of issues, which occasionally comes as a relief. Does Norway really need to be ham-fisted about the Middle East? From With Israel for Peace (MIFF), Norway’s largest pro-Israel organization: During the Parliamentary period 2005-2009, 1 out of The Conservatives’ 23 representatives were...
Bob and weave II: Norwegian evasions in the ME debate
When a boxer bobs, he moves his head laterally by bending at the knees and waist. When he weaves, he executes a bob while simultaneously moving sideways. The bob and the weave are evasive measures which not only spare the boxer from taking a hit – ideally they provide the boxer with a fine position from...
Norwegian political parties and Israel: The Progress Party
The Progress Party is usually inclined to support Israel. From With Israel for Peace (MIFF), Norway’s largest pro-Israel organization: During the parliamentary period 2005-2009, 16 out of the Progress Party’s 38 representatives were members of parliament’s Friends of Israel-group. The Progress Party supports the jewish people’s right to a national home. The Progress Party...
Norwegian political parties and Israel:Labor
Labor is traditionally eager to criticize Israel, and ties between Labor and Fatah remain strong. Yet the party does not look set to win the elections on their ME policies. From With Israel for Peace (MIFF), Norway’s largest pro-Israel organization: In the parliamentary period 2005-2009 none of Labor’s representatives were members of parliament’s Friends...
Opposition politician: Government holds dangerous beliefs on virtues of dialgoue
The Norwegian government is today a red-green coalition, opposed mainly by the Conservatives, the Christian-Deomcrats and the Progress Party (liberals). On August 1, in the Progress Party newspaper Fremskritt (Advance) Mazyar Keshvari writes about the dangerous self-confidence of the government when it comes to dialgoue with regimes such as that of Iran and Hamas:...