Dear Minister Bass Eide,
Over the past decade, we have spoken many times about Israel and the region, and while we have not always agreed, I have thought that your views on these issues reflect a constructive approach.
This includes a willingness to listen and engage in dialogue about the counterproductive agendas of powerful political NGOs funded by the Norwegian government, such as the Norwegian Refugee Council, Norwegian People's Aid (Folkehjelp) and Palestinian organisations under the guise of human rights and peace.
That is why I am so troubled by your statements and policies of the past few months, in the shadow of the inhuman and incomprehensible atrocity of the October 7th massacre and genocide.
Countries that have experienced trauma
This was not a distant event for us. Every Israeli bore the direct trauma, and continues to bear it. We have been to the funerals of mothers who were brutally murdered, and we try to comfort their children, as well as the families of the hostages who have been tortured in Gaza for almost eight months.
I rushed my grandchildren to shelters when Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran launched missile attacks in our direction. Israeli children carry bedding out of a bomb shelter after an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire in Ashkelon, Israel, May 21, 2021. (Photo by RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)
It is therefore deeply disturbing that your government has maintained a deafening silence and has not repeatedly and forcefully called for accountability from Hamas and its supporters, the immediate release of the hostages, and the disarmament of Hezbollah.
Instead, Norwegian policy continues to ignore the bitter realities Israelis face every day in the name of lofty, idealistic morality but entirely false principles, and such actions only further empower Hamas, Hezbollah and their allies.
At the same time, portrayals of Israelis as bloodthirsty murderers of innocent Palestinians, including immoral and patently false “genocide” and “starvation” campaigns, incite hatred and violence directed at Jewish people and reinforce age-old anti-Semitic imagery, including the blood libel.
This is evident from Norway's support for the International Criminal Court prosecutor's unreasonable indictment of Israeli leaders based on demonstrably false allegations.
The ICC is a very clear example of a grossly distorted use of international law and related institutions to demonize Israel and erase Israeli victims of atrocities and torture.
The same applies to Norway's support for the cynical legal battle at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the name of “occupation” and its support for the movement to impose a selective economic boycott to punish Israelis.
Norway's counterproductive move
Similarly, your recent declaration that you would recognize a theoretical Palestinian state is completely counterproductive, to say the least. There is no evidence to support your claim that recognition would bring “balance” or promote peace.
In contrast, we see that every transfer of territory under Palestinian control, from the failed Oslo Accords to the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, has led to an expansion of terror and war.
It is clear that a unilaterally imposed Palestinian state at this point would only increase instability and violence. Hamas and its allies would immediately expand their efforts to turn the West Bank into a Gaza-like terror bastion in order to further their goal of destroying Israel. Is this the goal Norway aspires to?
Moreover, Norway's harsh condemnation of Israel's response in Gaza, including repeated false accusations of war crimes, is constantly repeated across multiple platforms.
No one has seen or heard any mention of Hamas' use of 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as human shields, nor of the thousands of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel, nor of the massive underground terror infrastructure that has been supported for years by the international community, including the UN and Norway. These are actual war crimes.
While I can understand informed and principled disagreements on some issues, I don’t see how repeatedly demonizing Israel for dismantling Hamas, preventing a repeat of the October 7th horror, and acting in self-defense to thwart similar attacks planned by Hezbollah is reconcilable with your claim to act on morality.
It also notes Norway's unlimited support to UNRWA, erasing clear evidence of the involvement of many of its staff in terrorism, and the central role the agency has played since 1949 in perpetuating the conflict through the perpetuation of Palestinian refugee victimhood and the myth of “return”, i.e. the elimination of Israel.
For these reasons, I urge you to recognize, however belatedly, the need for a realistic approach to the trauma and complexities of our region, rather than pursuing a misguided policy of spreading false accusations and blood libel used to demonize Israelis.
Political leaders and diplomats, like doctors, should follow the principle of “do no harm.”
The time has come to repair relations between the people of Israel and Norway and replace the demonizing propaganda with the constructive dialogue that has characterized dialogue to date.
The author is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Bar Ilan University and Director of NGO Monitor.
