• Document 15 calls on Jonas Gahr Støre to explain Senator Brownback’s letter
    "Mowgli made leader of the Bandar-log" by John Charles Dollman On August 3rd  US Senator Brownback wrote a letter, expressing concern over Israel-hatred and anti-Semitism, to Norway’s ambassador to Washington DC. While this site published the letter on August 12th, Norwegian journalists failed to find it newsworthy. Members of the opposition […]
  • NRK mentions Naqba-effect but omits war-cause
    NRK reports on the Naqba without mentioning war which caused it Journalist Laila Ø. Bakken of the Norwegian State Broadcasting Authority NRK manages to report on how Abbas’ family fled during the “Naqba”, while completely omitting any mention of the 1948 war which caused the “Naqba”. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and […]
  • Letter from Minister of Defense denies boycott of Israel, claims ‘constructive dialogue’ with Israel
    Hans Olav Syversen from the Christian Democrats refers to a letter from the Minister of Defense Vårt Land today reports that the Christian Democrats (KrF) and Conservatives (Høyre) aim to stop Minister of Defense Grete Faremo (Labor) from boycotting Israeli companies on an individual basis. The article (above) refers to a letter from […]
  • NUPI invites Freeman to speak about US-Israel relations
    When Charles W. Freeman had to resign from a position with the Obama administration in March 2009, he blamed the Israel-Lobby. On Wednesday he visited NUPI in order to speak about US-Israel relations. Vårt Land reports, in an NTB article, that Freeman has as little faith in the current round of peace […]
  • Scandinavian democracy – a guided affair
    Screenshots from Norwegian newspapers Aftenposten and DagenMagazinet Not even in Scandinavia does democracy work flawlessly. Is there an invisible hand at work? In the screenshot above (left) we see an op-ed from yesterday’s Aftenposten, with Eirik Vatnøy from Civita, a liberal think tank, asking some rather poignant questions. Vatnøy points out that it appe […]
  • Washington Post on terrorism in Norway
    Three men were apprehended this summer on suspicion of terrorism. As the Washington Post points out, we Norwegians were told that we at no time have been in any danger whatsoever. Norway ‘bomb plot’ underscores al-Qaida pitfalls In late 2009, Jakobsen went to Norway’s Police Security Service and began providing information on Davud’s activities after what he […]
  • Protected: Norway suspects Israel unethical, invests in Turkmenistan
    There is no excerpt because this is a protected post. […]
  • JP mentions Norway: Has Europe learned from its past?
    In material terms, being Norwegian is like winning the lottery. Intellectually it is like living in a carnival. Once groupthink sets in there is nobody left to comment upon how it affects us, and prominent citizens can act bizarrely with impunity . The JP, which editor of Aftenposten Harald Stanghelle tells us is […]
  • Interview with a convert reveals anti-Semitism
    In Aslak Nore book “Ekstremistan” the author predicts that in the near future, Norway will be more mulit-cultural, for good and for worse. The reader is treated to some of the latter in Nore’s interview with a Norwegian convert to Islam, who reflects upon some of her formerly held beliefs. The following […]
  • Nous allons manger des pommes de terre israéliennes », annonce notre hôte
    This blog is not about Israel or the Norwegian Jews. It is about Norway’s perception of and relationship to Israel and Jews. Yet Norway is only one little piece in a larger puzzle. It is while trying to solve this puzzle that foreigners every now and then are brought to pay attention to us up […]

Dagsavisen on political correctness in Egypt

Are the times a-changing?

Dagsavisen’s Roger Hercz today treats us to an editorial on political correctness in Egypt which manages to be both exotic and strangely familiar at the same time. A sample:

Every conflict gives rise to stereotypes and images of enmity. Israel and [...]

JP ep-ed: “Are we whitewashing events in Norway?”

Today JP, which a prominent Norwegian newspaper editor has slammed has a untrustworthy right-wing rag, publishes an op-ed by Dr.Gerstenfeld of the JCPA, whom the same Norwegian newspaper has characterized as a blinded and inexhaustible fanatic.

Excerpt below:

However, not all is black. Most Norwegians have other problems than the Middle East conflict. There is also a [...]

VG editorial on Fayyad

Verdens Gang is Norway’s largest daily. Its editorial spans over pages two and three and are considered the country’s most important. Anything on these pages ought to reflect and affect the main “Norwegian” take on things. Today it is penned by Ms.Hanne Skartveit, who writes about Salam Fayyad of the PA and makes quite a [...]

Gerstenfeld replies to Aftenposten's editorial

On November 22nd Aftenposten rejected the criticism of the Jerusalem-seminar the week before, claiming that Manfred Gerstenfeld of the  Jerusalem Centre of Public Affairs was a blinded, if inexhaustible, extremist. One nice feature of Norwegian newspapers is however that they do allow for a right of response. Gerstenfeld’s reply was published in Aftenposten today. See [...]

Ilan Pappe centerfold of communist daily Klassekampen

Ilan Pappe – centerfold of communist daily Klassekampen

When Israeli historian Benny Morris visited Norway in June, there were no journalists present at the seminar and he received only a single mention in the newspapers (DagenMagazinet). At the time, this site wagered one bottle of Upper Ten (A Norwegian blend of Scottish Malts) that if [...]

Jerusalem Post: Is Norway really anti-Semitic

JP has published a well written op-ed by a Norwegian, one John A. Moen, under the title “Is Norway really anti-Semitic”. Here is an excerpt:

While awaiting the researchers’ conclusions, we can summarize the following: The problems we encounter as Norwegian Jews primarily derive from the fact that some Muslim immigrants transfer their hatred of Israel [...]

Ilan Pappe: la censure règne en Allemage comme dans les années 30 …

Israeli historian Ilan Pappe is touring Europe, it appears. Philosemitisme for one has picked up on the fact that he also is visiting Norway’s NTNU. Extract below:

“Ils auraient pu faire venir quelqu’un de l’ambassade pour présenter le point de vue opposé et me contredire. Ceci n’est jamais arrivé, même pas en Israël ; la chose est [...]

LO (TUC) called upon to reassess perspective on Israel

LO – the main Norwegian TUC – is one of many Norwegian organizations to embrace the cause of the Palestinians, even though the precise nature of this cause often remains unclear. During the May 1st march in Trondheim (home to NTNU) the Palestinian section proved the most popular. In LO leader Roar Flåthen’s May 1st [...]

2004: Deputy minister-to-be supports suicide bombers in Iraq

Ingrid Fiskaa (Socialist Left) was recently appointed deputy to Development Minister Erik Solheim (Socialist Left). Newspapers refer to her as a “peace activist”. Yet only in 2008 Ms.Fiskaa stated how she “in dark moments” fantasized about the UN “precision bombing selected Israeli targets”. This sort of talk is highly pecualiar. Yet if we go back [...]

Aftenposten rejects critic as "blinded fanatic"

Aftenposten editorial November 22nd

Norwegian politicians and newspapers criticize Israel more than any other state on the planet, and seriously expect Israel to take the criticism seriously. Yet when Mr.Gerstenfeld of JCPA directed some highly legitimate criticism at Norway at a seminar in Jerusalem last week, Aftenposten covered it in an article which artfully dodged [...]

Another take on the Jerusalem seminar on Norway

Aftenposten has had its say on the Jerusalem seminar on Norway. A not very benign one. For a more reasonable take visit Idag.no, where Richard Oestermann offers his version.

As mentioned one of the most interesting ideas to be brought up during the seminar was that Dr.Gerstenfeld meet with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre for [...]

Norway criticized - Aftenposten comments

Aftenposten’s correspondent to the Middle East Jørgen Lohne participated in the seminar held in Jerusalem on Thursday where Dr.Manfred Gerstenfeld of the JCPA identified anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incidents in contemporary Norway. The result – a full page article – is published in today’s paper edition of Aftenposten.

Unauthorized translation below:

- A Norwegian Elite Spreads Hate

Israeli author [...]

Dagbladet: Socialist radical becomes deputy minister

Dagbladet reports that “Socialist Left radical Ingrid Fiskaa” has become deputy to Minister of the Environment and Development Erik Solheim (Socialist Left). Going back to the Saturday of April 19th 2008, we find Ms.Fiskaa admitting the following in communist daily Klassekampen (Class struggle):

“In certain dark moments I might wish that the UN fired some [...]

Seminar on Norway held in Jerusalem

A seminar was held on “Norway, Israel and the jews” in Jerusalem yesterday. Was it about this blog? No. Was it about the same subjects as this blog deals with? Yes it was.

The seminar was given by Manfred Gerstenfeld of the JCPA to an audience of 35 people, including three retired Israeli ambassadors, the first [...]

Ilan Pappe speaks at NTNU on Friday 20th

NIJ wagers one bottle of whisky that Dagsavisen puts Mr.Pappe on first page

The controversial NTNU seminar series on Israel is proceeding according to plan and the next speaker up is Mr.Ilan Pappe, who will take the floor this friday. Here is how NTNU presents him:

Professor Ilan Pappé is one of the world’s leading historians of [...]