1. Leonard said:

I don't place much reliance on WAFA News Reports. It would be interesting to hear from a Norwegian or another insider as to the true picture inside Norway. Total Israeli exports to Norway were 43 million dollars last year. A region with 20% of the population would average 8 million dollars. An insignificant amount of trade for Norway that has one of the highest GDP in the World.

2. Laura said:

No more Norwegian lox for me.

3. ShyGuy said:

No more Norwegian.....................

...................um.................

Say! I've got nothing Norwegian. Damn!

To quote Bill Cosby: "So I went outside and I spit on him."

4. Steve said:

I've lived in SOuth Africa for all my life, through the darkest years of Apartheid and now in a South Africa characterised by the most liberal constitution in the world.

To characterise the situation as reminiscent of the darkest days of Apratheid is absolute rubbish.

Firstly the majority of people in South Africa were oppressed by the minority, not the situation under discussion.

Black people in South Africa were treated as second class citizens in their own country, the Palistinian's have their own country and it in fact receives enormous amounts of money in various Aid packages, it is however unable to account for this money.

Palistinian's are not legislated against by acts of parliament, they are granted rights to work in Israel, something that they erroneously regard as a right.

SOuth Africa's black majority historically resided on the land that they struggled over, something that the vast majority of Palistinians cannot argue about the State of Israel. In fact I challenge the Palistinian's to demonstrate sovereignty over the land they occupy now (so called Palistine)let alone Israel.

Steve

5. georg von mecklenburg said:

We have already banned low fat Norwegian Swiss Cheese in our Duchy for several years now. We either eat Swiss Cheese from Switzerland, Austria or Germany, but nothing from Norway.

6. Leonard said:

georg - I guess that you've probably put on weight.

7. kuhnkat said:

Steve,

a ittle off subject, I would be interested in hearing a contrast between what South Africa is like now and during Apartheid. I have read a number of things which suggest it is a LOT worse now and would like to hear from a resident.

Please e-mail me if you see this and have time to indulge my curiosity.

kuhnkat@earthlink.net

8. Paul Goldstein said:

This is a reply to Leonard's posting of Dec. 18, in which he asked to hear "from a Norwegian or another insider as to the true picture inside Norway."

I'm a Norwegian Jew, who moved to Norway from the U.S. five years ago. I currently live on an island (Sotra) off the west coast of Norway, not far from Bergen (Norway's second largest city).

The action taken by the Provincial Government of Soer-Troendelag was absolutely despicable. It must be remembered, however, that this is one particular Norwegian county (of three that are located in the region commonly referred to as Central Norway). It is not an action taken by or endorsed by the Norwegian national government, or for that matter, by the Norwegian people. It is an action of one particular county, not of the nation as a whole. (News reports, especially those outside of Norway, sometimes refer to the nation's counties ["fylker" in Norwegian] as "provinces". This can be a little misleading since fylker have much less governmental autonomy and power than, let's say, the provinces of Canada.) Indeed, within Soer-Troendelag itself, there is plenty of opposition - including a strong editorial in opposition that appeared in the main local newspaper in that region.
Within a Scandinavian-Jewish cyberforum I belong to, we are organizing a movement of protest to attempt to persuade the Soer-Troendelag county to rescind its shameful decision.
It's a long-standing Norwegian national policy not to support boycotts against any particular side of an international conflict, in order not to undermine Norwegian diplomatic and peacemaking efforts. (It should also be noted here that Norway is not a member of the European Union, so any EU-supported boycotts you may read about have nothing to do with Norway.) While there has always been a small vocal anti-Israel
group within Norway supporting a boycott against Israel, their disgusting efforts have nearly always been totally rebuffed (at least until now). Former Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik - in office until just a few months ago - a pastor with a strong pro-Israel orientation, helped to keep the Israel boycott people at bay during his tenure in office. I miss his presence now.

Regarding anti-Semitism in Norway, based on my five years' experience of living in the country, I can honestly say that there is very little of it. The Norwegian Jewish population is tiny (1500 in a total population of 4.5 million, with perhaps 80% of Norwegian Jews living in the Oslo area; in western Norway, where I live, Jews are extremely rare). My experience has been that native Norwegians (especially in the western part of the country) are fascinated by Jews and Judaism in a positive way - they read and hear a great deal about Jews and Judaism, but seldom have the opportunity to meet Jews in person.
I'm one of the very few active Jews in the Bergen area, and in effect have represented the Jewish people at a number of city events, such as Holocaust memorial rallies and interfaith gatherings. People at these events have often come up to me (while not Orthodox, I wear a yarmulke at these events to be readily identifiable as Jewish), and ask me questions to learn more about the Jewish people and Jewish life and practice. They are both curious and admiring at the same time.
The only anti-Semitism I've personally encountered in Norway has been among a few recent Muslim immigrants from Arab countries of the Middle East, who I have met while studying Norwegian at the University of Bergen.
Judaism is a mandatory part of the public school curriculum in Norway, and all schoolchildren are taught about Jews and Jewish religious practice; the curriculum is an accurate and positive one. Public expressions and statements of anti-Semitism are against the law - and there have been several prosecutions for anti-Semitism during my five years in the country. Public anti-Semitic statements are punishable by prison terms. It is also against Norwegian law to deface or show disrespect for the Israeli flag (and indeed the flags of all nations). At a number of public events I have seen the Israeli flag waving proudly among the flags of other nations.

- Paul
(Vindenes, island of Sotra, Norway)

>>1. Leonard said:
>
>I don't place much reliance on WAFA News Reports. It would be interesting to hear from a >Norwegian or another insider as to the true picture inside Norway....
>
>Posted by: Leonard on December 18, 2005 07:32 PM
>
>>

9. Leonard said:

Thanks for sharing that information with us Paul. The conclusion is that the Norwegians are not such a bad lot after all, and there is no need to create enemies needlessly. Antisemitic forces are far more potent in the UK and France. You only have to look at Ken Livingstone London's Mayor to recognise this. So I say "Skol" to our Norwegian friends.