The main activity at the Utoya Island Meeting were mock “Break the Israel blockade” games. Labour Youth League summer camp at Utøya got the Labour Party’s young hopefuls a visit by Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Hat Tip Dan
If you thought that the massacre in Oslo would soften Norwegian hearts toward Israel you would be mistaken. Norway’s Ambassador to Israel told reporters that Norwegians consider “the occupation” to be the cause of the terror against Israel. He went on to say the terror attacks will not likely change a lot of hearts in Oslo concerning Israel.
The JTA reported:
Norway’s Ambassador to Israel drew distinctions between the Oslo and Utoya massacres and Palestinian terrorism.
Svein Sevje said in an Israeli newspaper interview Tuesday that while the Norwergian bomb and gun rampages that killed 76 people and Palestinian attacks should both be considered morally unacceptable, he wanted to “outline the similarity and the difference in the two cases.”
Palestinians, the ambassador told Maariv, “are doing this because of a defined goal that is related to the Israeli occupation. There are elements of revenge against Israel and hatred of Israel. To this you can add the religious element to their actions.”
“In the case of the terror attack in Norway, the murderer had an ideology that says that Norway, particularly the Labor Party, is forgoing Norwegian culture,” Sevje said, referring to suspect Anders Breivik, a Christian nativist who is opently anti-Islam and anti-immigration.
Unlike European Union states, Norway has engaged Hamas and often been fiercely critical of Israel, to Jerusalem’s dismay.
While Sevje voiced sympathy for Israeli terror victims, having experienced “the inferno” of such attacks during his posting, he saw little chance of Norway reviewing its Middle East policies.
“We Norwegians consider the occupation to be the cause of the terror against Israel,” he said. “Those who believe this will not change their mind because of the attack in Oslo.”
He added, “Can Israel and the Palestinians solve the problems without Hamas? I don’t think so.”
Hat Tip Barbara
