Friday, January 13, 2006
Ynetnews - Money - Wiesenthal Center slams Norway's Israel boycott
Norway's much celebrated constitution originally stated that "Jesuits and Monastic orders shall not be tolerated. Jews are furthermore excluded from the Kingdom". During the second world war, Norwegians eagerly handed over its Jewish population to the German occupation forces. With such a history, one would think that Norwegian politicians would think twice about attacking a state founded by a minority population that have been discriminated against since the beginning of time.
Even if you are of the opinion that Israel should be criticized for "occupying" Arab land, hopefully you do not think that Israel should be treated any differently than occupying powers in other parts of the world. Sadly, extreme left-wing politicians in Norway comprehend next to nothing of this, and it is easy to reach the conclusion that the hatred against Jews currently is manifesting itself through the more politically correct hatred of the Jewish state, Israel. While the left wing parties in Norway argue for a boycott of Israel, Morocco's occupation of West-Sahara and China's occupation of Tibet are silently ignored. Even if criticism of Israel is to be freely accepted, shouldn't there at least be a minimum of consistency? The foreign policy priorities of the extreme left wing parties defy common sense, but in the end that seems to be a common policy trait of the Norwegian left.
The Socialist Left Party of Norway is currently demanding an apology from the Wiesenthal Center after having been compared to Nazis during the second world war. This is an unfair comparison, though it would not come as a shock if the Socialist Left Party of Norway were to publicly acknowledge its admiration for the German leader. Norwegian socialist politicians have a long history of supporting leaders like Pol Pot and Stalin, and are currently big fans of Fidel Castro, thus admiring Hitler would not be a big step. The female Norwegian leader of the Left Socialist Party can bear a striking resemblance to the German leader on a bad day. I am sure that I have seen a photograph of Adolph Hitler making a very similar expression to the one by Kristin Halvorsen below, please feel free to send me a link if you can find it.
More recently, a representative for the Socialist Left Party called Iraqis working for the coalition forces in Iraq as traitors. It may be difficult to comprehend for outside observers, but some Norwegian politicians actually have a bigger dislike of the U.S.A. than they ever did of Saddam's regime.
In conclusion, I am embarrassed on behalf of all Norwegians over this issue. The boycott of Israel announced by the provincial government of Sor-Trondelag is unfortunate, but please remember that the district has a population of only 270,000. Being elected to government in Sor-Trondelag is easier than it is to find someone in the district that is not married to their cousin - and when you finally find someone married outside their family, it will most likely be due to an unhealthy preference for domestic animals (very common in these parts of Norway).
However, while the idiots in Sor-Trondelag can be easily ignored, the Socialist Left Party that supports the boycott is more of an embarrassment. The party is actually part of the national government in Norway, and the situation will unfortunately stay that way until 2009 at the earliest. For that, there is little I can do but to apologize. Please expect more stupidity in the years to come.
Norway's much celebrated constitution originally stated that "Jesuits and Monastic orders shall not be tolerated. Jews are furthermore excluded from the Kingdom". During the second world war, Norwegians eagerly handed over its Jewish population to the German occupation forces. With such a history, one would think that Norwegian politicians would think twice about attacking a state founded by a minority population that have been discriminated against since the beginning of time.
Even if you are of the opinion that Israel should be criticized for "occupying" Arab land, hopefully you do not think that Israel should be treated any differently than occupying powers in other parts of the world. Sadly, extreme left-wing politicians in Norway comprehend next to nothing of this, and it is easy to reach the conclusion that the hatred against Jews currently is manifesting itself through the more politically correct hatred of the Jewish state, Israel. While the left wing parties in Norway argue for a boycott of Israel, Morocco's occupation of West-Sahara and China's occupation of Tibet are silently ignored. Even if criticism of Israel is to be freely accepted, shouldn't there at least be a minimum of consistency? The foreign policy priorities of the extreme left wing parties defy common sense, but in the end that seems to be a common policy trait of the Norwegian left.
The Socialist Left Party of Norway is currently demanding an apology from the Wiesenthal Center after having been compared to Nazis during the second world war. This is an unfair comparison, though it would not come as a shock if the Socialist Left Party of Norway were to publicly acknowledge its admiration for the German leader. Norwegian socialist politicians have a long history of supporting leaders like Pol Pot and Stalin, and are currently big fans of Fidel Castro, thus admiring Hitler would not be a big step. The female Norwegian leader of the Left Socialist Party can bear a striking resemblance to the German leader on a bad day. I am sure that I have seen a photograph of Adolph Hitler making a very similar expression to the one by Kristin Halvorsen below, please feel free to send me a link if you can find it.
More recently, a representative for the Socialist Left Party called Iraqis working for the coalition forces in Iraq as traitors. It may be difficult to comprehend for outside observers, but some Norwegian politicians actually have a bigger dislike of the U.S.A. than they ever did of Saddam's regime.In conclusion, I am embarrassed on behalf of all Norwegians over this issue. The boycott of Israel announced by the provincial government of Sor-Trondelag is unfortunate, but please remember that the district has a population of only 270,000. Being elected to government in Sor-Trondelag is easier than it is to find someone in the district that is not married to their cousin - and when you finally find someone married outside their family, it will most likely be due to an unhealthy preference for domestic animals (very common in these parts of Norway).
However, while the idiots in Sor-Trondelag can be easily ignored, the Socialist Left Party that supports the boycott is more of an embarrassment. The party is actually part of the national government in Norway, and the situation will unfortunately stay that way until 2009 at the earliest. For that, there is little I can do but to apologize. Please expect more stupidity in the years to come.
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