Norwegians are often told about the Israel-lobby in the US and its influence on US foreign policy. Of far more interest to us Norwegians however, is the anti-Israel lobby in Norway and its influence on Norwegian foreign policy. The Venn diagram above captures the main components of this lobby; 1) a pro-Palestinian component (Palestinakommiteen) 5) a racist component (Vigrid, Muhammed Ali Chisti, Arfan Bhatti) and 7) an anti-Zionist component (One-state solution proponents such as Nils Butenschøn). The corresponding intersects are 2,3,4 and 6. While it is difficult to allocate contemporary individuals to either of the subsets, Per Imerslund (1912-1943) exemplifies how one can be anti-Semitic and pro-Zionist at the same time, although this precise example is a subject of debate in itself.
The components differ from each other. Their objectives are not the same. For instance LO (Main Norwegian TUC) support for the Palestinian cause and calls for sanctions against Israel are based on the organization’s political outlook, not racism. Contrariwise Neo-Nazis (arguably- for Nazis, racism and politics are inseperable) base their hostility against Israel on racism. Yet the components overlap and intersect. Just as there are pro-Palestinians who are in favor of a jewish state, there are anti-Zionists who are racially motivated and racists who sympathize with Israel’s enemies. The common interest of the groups, organizations and individuals which together constitute the anti-Israel lobby lies in criticism of Israel as a jewish state.
But how do we describe the anti-Israel lobby beyond this?
Stephen Walt and John J. Mearsheimer define and assess the Israel-lobby in the USA in their book: The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy. As this book is on US affairs with which few Norwegians are familiar, it is difficult to assess to what extent the arguments presented are reliable and valid. Norwegians however might find it an interesting experiment to substitute “Norway” for “USA” and “anti-Israel” for “Israel”. In which case we find the following (The Israel Lobby, page 112), with substituted words highlighted in red:
Defining the Lobby
We use “anti-Israel Lobby” as a convenient shorthand term for the loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape Norwegian foreign policy in an anti-Israel direction. The lobby is not a single, unified movement with a central leadership, however, and the individuals and groups that make up this broad coalition sometimes disagree on specific policy issues. Nor is it some sort of cabal or conspiracy. On the contrary, the organizations and individuals who make up the lobby operate out in the open and in the same way that other interest groups do.
Now obviously this little exercise is no proof of anything. One cannot merely substitute individual words and then claim it constitutes research. But what this exercise does do is illustrate how the analysis of Walt and Mearsheimer may be applied to Norway, though it will hardly provide the same results.
This site will attempt to apply the analysis of Walt and Mearsheimer to Norwegian foreign policy.
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