Children’s book upsets ambassador

Israel’s ambassador to Norway is so upset over the content of a Norwegian children’s book, and its pending distribution in state libraries, that he’s warned the Norwegian government it could affect future cooperation between the two countries. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported over the weekend that Ambassador Michael Eligal sent a letter to Norway’s government [...]

Abbas launches state initiative in Oslo

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been in Oslo this week, where he launched a new drive towards statehood by signing an agreement with Norway that upgrades the Palestinians’ representative office in Oslo to an embassy. Norway remained non-committal, though, towards formally recognizing a new Palestinian state in the United Nations. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr [...]

Aid group bashes Støre over Gaza

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is being bashed by both aid workers and even some of his own Labour Party colleagues, after he refused to say whether Israel’s blockade of Gaza is illegal. Several Norwegians are on board vessels that are keen on breaking the blockade but remain stuck in Greece. Humanitarian organization Norsk [...]

New courses to fight anti-Semitism

Norway’s minister for education, Kristin Halvorsen, has reacted to recent figures about increasing anti-Semitism in schools by introducing courses for teachers that will instruct them in how to fight hatred of Jews among staff and pupils. Halvorsen’s proposal will cost NOK 6 million (just over USD 1 million) and will focus on equipping teachers to [...]

Peres criticizes Norway on Hamas

Israeli President Shimon Peres has criticized the Norwegian government’s refusal to classify Hamas as a terrorist organization, claiming that the country has “suddenly changed its standpoint” on such issues. “I do not understand Norway’s position, and I say that as a friend of Norway,” Peres told Norwegian TV channel, TV2. “If they shoot, if they [...]

NRK ‘not biased against Israel’

The Norwegian Broadcasting Council has rejected complaints from the Israeli embassy in Norway that Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) has been biased against Israel in their news reporting. The council, which is made up of eight members appointed by parliament and six appointed by the government, “reviews programme complaints from the audience,” and issues raised by council’s [...]

Politicians to break Gaza blockade

A convey of ships, known as the “Freedom Flotilla 2 – Stay Human,” will attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza with as many as 20 Norwegian participants, including parliamentarians, either at the end of May or June. The Norwegian activists, calling themselves “Ship to Gaza Norway,” aim to break the blockade along with [...]

Government hails Egyptian people

Norway’s government leaders joined their counterparts all over the world in hailing the perseverance of the Egyptian people who succeeded in forcing change through non-violent means. “The widespread will of the people has won,” said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. As jubilation continued through the weekend, and cleaning up began in Cairo, Stoltenberg noted that Egypt [...]

Støre talked with Hamas’ leader

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has admitted to Norway’s national commercial television channel TV2 that he’s had direct contact with the leader of the Palestinian group Hamas, even though Norway officially only has contact with Hamas at a bureaucratic level. Hamas leader Khaled Mishaal had confirmed to TV2 that he has had several phone [...]

State set to survey anti-Semitism

The Norwegian government is supporting a major effort to measure anti-Semitism in the country. The Oslo-based Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities (HL-senteret) will survey attitudes in Norway towards Jews but also Muslims and other groups. “The Center will get NOK 3 million (USD  530.000) to carry out the study,” Tora Aasland, acting [...]

Støre makes the rounds in Mideast

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre flew right into a hornets’ nest of new tensions in the Middle East this week, as he made the rounds of visits to leaders in Israel, Jordan and Mokatah, the government complex for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The fall of the government in Lebanon, though, throws the entire area into [...]

New Palestinian embassy not popular with the Israelis

Palestinian plans to upgrade their representative office in Oslo to a full-fledged embassy may become a reality late next year, but not without protests from Israel. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said earlier this month that the Palestinian embassy plans are in line with what other countries have arranged with the Palestinians, such as [...]

Norway welcomes new Mideast talks

The Norwegian government welcomed news late last week that representatives for Israel and the Palestinians would finally enter into direct negotiations starting September 2 in Washington. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who visited Israel, Gaza and the West Bank just last week (PicApp photo), was only cautiously optimistic that the talks will result in [...]

‘Nostalgia’ around role in Mideast

UPDATED: As Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre made the rounds in Israel and Palestinian areas this week, he initially seemed to be among those agreeing that Norway has given up its earlier role as a behind-the-scenes bridge-builder in the Middle East. Now he claims that Norway remains committed to helping both sides finally find some [...]

Police struggle to secure embassies

Oslo has become like “flypaper” for demonstrations tied to conflicts far beyond Norway’s borders, worries a top Norwegian police official, and that’s making it harder to secure the local embassies of countries involved. Newspaper Aftenposten reports that the Norwegian Foreign Ministry doesn’t think the police are doing a good enough job when demonstrations break out. [...]

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