Doc's Talk: Growing Norwegian hostility

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Growing Norwegian hostility

Isi Leibler
January 17, 2010
http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=2033

Norwegian Foreign Minister Johan Gahr Støre, who is visiting Israel today, represents a government that all too often seizes the opportunity to besmirch the Jewish state and is renowned as one of the principal Israel-bashers in Europe. Jews have mixed feelings about Norway. They have fond memories of the resistance displayed by Norwegian King Haakon VII against the Nazis, but are obliged to balance this with the collaborator Vidkun Quisling, whose name has become a universal term for describing traitors.

To this day, Norway retains an unenviable reputation for sanctioning cruel blood sports like hunting, and is reviled as one of the last countries that still condone whaling. Yet this is the country that banned Jewish ritual slaughter even before the Nazis did so in Germany.

Støre is today at the vanguard of European political leaders endorsing direct talks with Hamas, and repeatedly condemns Israel for having acted disproportionately and brutally in Gaza.

NEEDLESS TO say, double standards apply. Norway is a NATO member, but failed to protest when it carpet-bombed Serbia, killing many innocent civilians in its efforts to depose president Slobodan Milosevic. Nor, despite the involvement of its own troops, does Norway protest about innocent civilians killed when NATO destroys terrorist networks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Norway was one of the principal European countries that strongly agitated to proceed with Durban II even after there was no doubt that it would be a hate fest. When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed that conference, virtually all EU representatives left the hall. Støre refused to do so, even though he subsequently condemned his speech. Likewise, when Ahmadinejad addressed the UN, the Norwegian foreign minister was one of the few Europeans who refused to walk out.

At the beginning of last year, Trine Lilleng, an administrative employee of the Norwegian Embassy in Saudi Arabia, triggered an international incident when she used the embassy's e-mail network to disseminate gruesome photographs of alleged victims of the Gaza conflict juxtaposed with photos of Holocaust victims. This elicited a bitter denunciation from Yad Vashem, which condemned as unconscionable a Norwegian diplomat in a country like Saudi Arabia distributing such a despicable document exploiting Holocaust inversion to besmirch Israel in the name of human rights.

During a subsequent visit to Israel in March, in the course of an interview with Ma'ariv in which he again accused the Jewish state of acting disproportionately in Gaza and called for direct talks with Hamas, Støre tried to deflect criticism from the incident by stating that Lilleng was no longer serving in Riyadh. But a few months later, following an enquiry from an Israeli journalist, the Norwegian embassy there responded that "consul" Lilleng was still stationed in Saudi Arabia.

LAST YEAR, the Norwegian government invested $30 million for major celebrations in honor of the late Knut Hamsun, a writer who had dedicated his Nobel Prize to Joseph Goebbels and in 1945 eulogized Hitler. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman at that stage accused Norway of indifference to anti-Semitism.

The most recent confrontation followed the publication of a vile book written by two Norwegian doctors, Mads Gilbert and Erik Fosse, whose visit to Gaza was funded by the Norwegian government through the NGO NORWAC. Gilbert is a radical Marxist with a long track record of promoting vicious hatred against Israel, and who had even justified the 9/11 attack on the US.

Titled Eyes of Gaza, this anti-Israel propaganda tract is now in its fourth edition. It contains photographs of maimed Palestinian children designed to portray Israelis as heartless monsters. The basic theme is that the purpose of Operation Cast Lead was "to collectively punish the entire Palestinian population of Gaza. The punishment was a merciless slaughter of women and children, old and young, men and women and a demolishing bombardment which was to push Gaza decades back in time... The killed children were not a result of the dark of night, wrong coordinates on the GPS sites or one and another undisciplined soldier. The killed and damaged women were not really supposed to be spared... All Palestinians in Gaza were terrorists for the Israeli soldiers. Therefore they were also in their eyes legitimate targets for attacks, injury and murder."

In other words, Israelis had embarked on a bloodthirsty punitive expedition to massacre and mercilessly kill as many men, women and children in Gaza as possible. The book brackets Nazi behavior in Warsaw with that of the IDF in Gaza. It depicts fantasies about Israelis massing women and children into buildings and then savagely blowing them up.

THIS DESPICABLE volume could be included among the worst contemporary Western anti-Israel diatribes. What makes it more significant than the run-of-the-mill pro-Hamas propaganda is the extent to which Norwegian government ministers praised not only its authors, but its content. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg expressed gratitude to the authors for their efforts, describing them as "a voice to the world."

Støre went further, endorsing the new blood libel on the back cover of the book, stating: "When war rages, the civilians are made mute. Erik Fosse and Mads Gilbert were in Gaza as doctors in January 2009. In addition they told of what they saw. It was not their duty, but it was their responsibility. When military might fences out all voices, the few which remain become extra strong and important."

Not surprisingly, the Israeli government protested. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon condemned the book as "outrageous and bordering on incitement made up of fabrication and lies" and described Støre's effusive praise for it as "problematic." A Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman responded that Støre was merely expressing appreciation for the humanitarian work undertaken by the doctors.

IN RECENT weeks, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has been asserting that Israel should stop turning the other cheek when insulted by representatives of other countries. It would be most appropriate for him to implement this policy when he meets his Norwegian counterpart today in Jerusalem. But hopefully he will communicate our anger in a more sophisticated fashion than the incredibly infantile and counterproductive manner in which our legitimate protest to the Turkish ambassador was conveyed last week.

In addition, we must distinguish between our outrage with the government of Norway and the people. We should bear in mind that all 26 of the Norwegian parliamentary "Friends of Israel" are associated with the opposition. In addition, despite repeated denials by government apologists that anti-Semitism in Norway had escalated, even the viciously anti-Israel daily Aftenposten this month carried an editorial deploring the escalation of anti-Semitism which was forcing Jews to emigrate. It attributed the increased hatred to the anti-Semitic Muslim immigrants and the impact of the hostile anti-Israel environment. The editorial concluded that the hatred represented a tragedy not only for Jews, but for Norwegian society as a whole.

We can only hope that in the course of time, Norway will elect a government that will be more evenhanded toward Israel. Until then, we should be under no illusions. This Norwegian government is not neutral. It is rabidly hostile.

ileibler@netvision.net.il

This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk