Japan awakened a “sleeping giant” by attacking Pearl Harbor. The full wrath of the USA was brought upon them. In a similar vein, the proposal for boycott at NTNU has awakened the sleeping dwarf of Norwegian decency. This is remarkable. Most people are busy with day to day life and hold little interest in the details of the world at large. Israel’s vices however, are made out to carry a lot of weight. Akersgata – Norway’s Fleet Street – has told us of the evils of little Israel for such a long time now, it is a wonder how people still have it in them to question the axiom of Israel as the greatest threat to world peace. Yet such is the beauty of decent people.
On October 29th the daily Norwegian newspaper DagenMagazinet wrote about how Hans-Olav Syversen from Norway’s Christian Democrats – Kristelig Folkeparti – has posed a question to Minister of Research and Higher Education Tora Aasland (Socialist Left) on whether a university such as NTNU can independently venture into politics by proposing a boycott of another nation, when such a boycott would be in violation of existing foreign policy. Minister Aasland’s answer to this question is likely to impact upon the decision of the NTNU board, which is to vote on the boycott-proposal on November 12th.
So who is Tora Aasland, and what can we expect her answer to be?
Tora Aasland represents the Socialist Left. This is the party of Hanna Kvanmo, who was sentenced for treason after WWII after having served as a Red Cross nurse for German soldiers on the Eastern front. This is the party of Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen who on January 8th participated in a march under the placard “USA and Israel axis of evil“. While calls of “kill the jews” were heard during the march, both the Socialist Left and Norway’s envoy to Tel Aviv denied this, insisting that the march had been a “dignified affair” (In truth, the calls were made in arabic which Ms.Halvorsen does not know. Yet she was fully aware of the calls afterwards, when her party denied that such calls had been made).
Tora Aasland also enjoys a claim to fame after imam Zulqarnain Sakandar Madni’s lecture at Oslo University College (see clip). During this lecture the imam questioned whether muslims could be blamed for the 9/11 bombing of the twin towers, insinuating instead that the jews were to blame. At the time Tora Aasland stated: “I will to the utmost extent defend the freedom of expression, even though what one claims is completely beyond logic and science“.
Ms.Aasland’s stance begs two questions: 1) where was she during the Muhammed-cartoon wars? 2) does the freedom of expression include the right of NTNU rector Torbjørn Digernes to “applaud” a seminar series demonizing Israel, when that seminar series provides the backdrop to the subsequent decision for whether or not to boycott said country?
The Christian Democrats alone do not have the power to force Tora Aasland’s hand. For that they need the might of a united opposition. Where are the Conservatives (Høyre)? Where are the Liberals (Venstre)? Where is the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet)?
And even more to the point: Where is the government?
Tora Aasland is to answer Hans-Olav Syversen’s question on Wednesday.
