“People told me when I came to Norway that the country has a long tradition of anti-Semitism. They were wrong. It is not history. It is happening here and now.”
- Alan Dershowitz, 2011
According to the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Norway is one of the most anti-Semitic countries outside of the Muslim world. While the world is shocked that a madman would slaughter innocent men, women and children because, in part, of his Islamophobia, nothing is being said about the fact that the same society suffering this horror today is not as inclusive, diverse, tolerant and multicultural as it and many would like you to believe. Does this justify what Anders Behring-Breivik did? Absolutely not. Is it acceptable to discriminate against Muslims because a society is anti-Semitic? Of course not, but it would suggest that a society that tolerates anti-Semitism while preaching tolerance and diversity should do some deep soul-searching.
Oslo, Norway, 2011
Oslo, Norway, 1940
‘Jøde-parasitten skaffet oss 9. april’ = “The Jew parasite got us April 9"
(Beginning of Nazi Germany's occupation of Norway)
While it is true that Norway has a long
history of anti-Semitism, (Quisling, anyone?), it is also true that
something very different is happening now. In the 1920s and 1930s,
economic conditions provided the kindle for the fire that became
Naziism, which consumed more than just 6 million Jews. Whereas, it was
the "Native" Europeans discriminating against Jews and seeking their
destruction, today, they are not alone. What isn't clear is whether
the "Natives" simply acquired partners in anti-Semitism with the influx
of Islamists* or if the "Natives" are kowtowing to Islamists out of
fear or if it is the former in some countries and the latter in others.
Adolf Hitler and Vidkun Quisling
To this day, Germans still live with the shame of what their ancestors did. Norway, however, took the approach "One executed Quisling and done." It has been criticised by the Simon Wiesenthal Centre as one of the countries that did little to investigate, let alone prosecute, the Nazi war criminals. The Norwegian Defence Ministry authorised in 1988 the obliteration of an archive containing information on the Norwegian people and organisations sympathising with communists or Nazis. The archive was erased in 1994 when the World Jewish Congress and Bjørn Westlie, a journalist for the Norwegian business daily Dagens Næringsliv, were gathering information on Naziism and the Jewish property plundered in Norway. Of course, while the Norwegian media neglected to report on any of this, it did, as it continues to do today, criticise the very existence of the State of Israel.
A caricature in Norway's largest daily Verdens Gang
shows Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, while shaving, looking in the mirror
and seeing Hezbollah leader, Hasan Nasrallah. Olmert's feet are those
of an animal.
In 1875, only 25 Jews had permanent residence in the country. In June 1892, the first Jewish community was established Oslo. The community was first given the name 'Det Jødiske Samfund i Christiania' ('The Jewish Community in Christiania'), but a year later this was changed to 'Det Mosaiske Trossamfund' ('The Mosaic Community'). By 1910, there were about 1,000 Jews in Norway. Though the minority was small and widely-dispersed, several stereotypes of Jews gained currency in the Norwegian press and popular literature in the early 20th century.
Opposition to antisemitic prejudice ran
across party lines. CJ Hambro, Sverre Støstad, and Fridtjof Nansen
held a principled line against it. Primarily, the newspapers Aftenposten and Nationen, as well as Tidens Tegn served as platforms for anti-Jewish sentiments, also on the editorial pages.
Sadly, these journals continue their anti-Semitism and should be
shamed by the global journalism community. Of course, that would
require said community to have principles and honour. If only Rupert Murdoch would purchase Aftenposten and Nationen, then the MSM would sharpen its fangs.
* I do not use the words 'Islamist" or "Islamism" interchangeably with Islam or Muslims.
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