The country that hates Israel the most in Europe

For a long time, Ireland was considered the most hostile country in Europe to Israel, but it appears Norway has managed to usurp that position and claim the dubious title. Israel and Norway are currently in the most serious diplomatic crisis in the history of their relationship.

At the center of the crisis between the two countries is Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, who has made a series of very harsh statements against Israel. Two weeks after the Gaza war broke out, at an international summit on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in Cairo, Eide was the only Western foreign minister who did not condemn Israel or call for the release of the hostages. Mr. Eide compared Israel to Russia three times, and he said that Europe will lose credibility if it does not condemn Israel for the same things he has accused Russia of.

When the case brought by South Africa against Israel began to be heard at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Norway announced its support for the case. Asked by an opposition lawmaker what he thought about the lawsuit, Eide said Israel may not have committed genocide in Gaza, but it was committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The minister also made it clear that it would be good for the courts to investigate whether genocide was indeed occurring in Gaza. Norway has also strongly opposed Israel in additional proceedings before the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the legality of Israeli policies and practices in the West Bank.

Eide boasted that Norway does not export arms to Israel, and urged countries that export arms to Israel to stop doing so because they could be indirectly involved in potential genocide. I called out. He recently said in an interview with the NRK Network podcast that the Israeli government does not understand what is in its country’s best interests.

On Sunday, Eide claimed in an interview with the tabloid VG that relations between Israel and the United States were deteriorating, saying, “We are hearing from all channels that America’s patience with Prime Minister Netanyahu has fallen to less than 1%. Very “It’s a bad vibe,” he said.

Israel’s ambassador to Norway, Avi Nir Feldklein, was asked by the daily Dagbladet to address Eide’s claims. “These are questions to ask the United States, whether it is willing to have domestic discussions about third parties exposed” publicly. ”

In 2010, one of the WikiLeaks cables revealed a statement by the US Ambassador to Norway in which Ada, who was also Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, appeared to put her own interests above those of Norway. said.

Despite the questionable behavior of the Norwegian Foreign Minister, for some reason Israel decided to give Norway a bounty, as the country that holds hundreds of millions of shekels of frozen tax revenue that Israel holds as imports from Palestine to Gaza. I chose Norway. This is part of an agreement between Israel and the US after Israel refused to transfer funds to Gaza for fear it would fall into the hands of Hamas.

Ada’s discussion of the deteriorating relationship between Israel and the United States came a day after Israel finalized the structure for transferring funds to Norway. For Norwegians, this is an important diplomatic achievement that establishes them as an important player on the international stage.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gare Stoer said Norway was ready to hold talks with Hamas to bring about a quick solution to end the war. This is not surprising given that Norway is the only country in Europe that does not define Hamas as a terrorist organization.

In December, another aspect of Norway’s problematic behavior toward Israel became clear. Norway’s Foreign Ministry has banned Norway’s King Harald V from sending official condolences to the State of Israel after the October 7 massacre “in view of the political nature of the conflict.”

Beware of double standards. While attending the Cairo International Book Fair, Ada took the wife of the Crown Prince of Norway to introduce aid organizations working in Gaza, and she heard heartbreaking stories from them about what is happening there. Norway’s foreign minister told the same meeting that what was happening in Gaza was “hell on earth.” After the meeting, while the heir to the throne’s wife shed tears, the two stood in front of the camera, occasionally looking at the foreign minister standing next to her to get confirmation that she was saying the right thing.

That’s how it works. If the King of Norway wants to express his condolences to the State of Israel, it is forbidden, but it is OK for the Crown Prince’s wife to express sympathy for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Even after it was revealed on October 7 that 12 UNRWA employees took part in the massacre, Norway continued to fund the agency, even criticizing countries that chose to freeze funding. Minister Ada expanded on the topic by saying, “Just because you have 12 rotten apples doesn’t mean you can stop funding an entire organization.” So let’s say we stop funding the entire organization.” Are you the Norwegian police? ”

Members of the Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defense, the senior representatives of Norway’s ruling party, even nominated UNRWA as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Just a few days ago, Norwegian News Agency reported on the resumption of United Airlines flights to Israel. The article states that United will resume service to Israel in March after suspending service “soon after Israel began its war with Hamas.” The false report that Israel has started a war with Hamas has already been reported in other Norwegian media outlets that consistently demonize Israel.

On Wednesday, Norwegian newspaper Dagen published a list of pro-Zionists living in southern Norway because “it is important to have such a list, just as there is a list of pedophiles.” Reported on citizen initiatives. The newspaper also reported that at an event organized by a feminist organization, a Jewish woman offered to discuss sexual crimes committed by Hamas terrorists, and in response she was called a “Zionist pig” and booed. Also reported.

The situation on the streets of Norway is no different from the situation in the country’s media. On Thursday, a Norwegian “peace activist” was filmed spitting on a photo of a hostage near the entrance to the Israeli embassy in Oslo. Not far from the embassy, ​​a man unfurled a series of Palestinian flags, placed an Israeli flag on the sidewalk and called on people to come and step on it. The Israeli Embassy in Oslo conducted a survey on the X platform, asking surfers where they thought the photo was taken – Iran or Oslo?

In an interview with VG newspaper, Nir Feldklein said that after the war, Israel would have to decide who its partners would be, but that it was unclear whether Norway would play a key role. “We need to understand that we are living on the 7th.” It remains as of October 6th. ” In a separate interview, the Israeli ambassador said that unfortunately the Norwegian government does not understand the situation and that bilateral relations are in crisis.

In view of Norway’s actions, the Norwegian ambassador to Israel has already been summoned several times and reprimanded meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.