WHY I WON'T BE SEEING THE FJORDS THIS SUMMER By Bennett M. Epstein
On the heels of Mr. Roed-Larsen' s now infamous remark that Israel "ceded
all "moral ground" in Jenin, comes word from his home country of Norway
that some supermarket chains have decided to place special
identification stickers on products from Israel.
Other Scandinavian countries may follow suit.
The Norwegians say the stickers do not constitute a "boycott" of Israel;
they just want their customers, who are overwhelmingly pro Palestinian,
to pay attention to where these products are produced.
Maybe the rest of us should run down to our local supermarkets with a
pad of yellow "post-it" notes so that consumers of Norwegian salmon or
Jarlsberg cheese can also pay attention to where those are produced.
Stick them on the packages with a note: these products come from a
place with a shameful past that continues to operate as a European free
zone for Neo-Nazis and other right wing extremists.
Those asking the question of whether Europeans are anti-Israel because
of Israel's actions in fighting terror, or because of their own latent
anti-Semitism, should study the
example of Norway. Behind the current disclaimer of a boycott you will
find that Norwegians are quite experienced at boycotting Israel.
Norwegian labour unions have recently refused to off-load Israeli
farmproduce. .
Last year, a Norwegian "labor youth movement" organized a demonstration
against Israeli singers from the Eurovision song contest.
Another Norwegian group has been boycotting Israeli oranges since the
early90s.
This group, "Boikott Israel l," rejuvenated by the latest "Intifada"
toInclude a boycott of all Israeli commerce, denies on its website that
it is anti-Semitic but states its goal is
the end Israel's "50 year occupation" of, and thereturn of refugees to
a "free Palestine."
Not anti-Semitic? In 1941, the graffiti on Jewish businesses in Oslo
read:"Jews, go to Palestine."
To campaign now in Norway to get the Jews out of "Palestine" seems
anti-Semitic to me, if only by process of elimination. Indeed, the roots
of Norwegian boycotts of Israel run deep. Anti-Semitism has held a
unique place in Norwegian politics since the 1930s when Vidkun Quisling,
later the leader of a Nazi puppet government in
Norway, formed the National Union Party.
While many Norwegians fought with the Resistance, many became eager
collaborators of the Nazis, including some 60,000 members of the
National Union. Under its auspices, Norway formed its own branch of
the SS and established academies sending hundreds of officers to set up
the rings of like-minded groups from
Sweden and with little fear of official interference.
More significantly, according to a report published by the Stephen Roth
Institute of Tel Aviv University, the extreme right wing Progress Party
is the second largest party in Norway with 25 out of 160 seats in the
Parliament. Among other racist and anti-immigration views, this party
advocates banning male circumcision.
Schechita, kosher stickers on Israeli goods are the modern-day
equivalent of painting "Joden" on the Jewish-owned businesses of Oslo
and Trondheim in 1941.
We needn't be reminded that after that, all of Norway's remaining
Jews were deported to Auschwitz. Fewer than 30 (THIRTY!) survived the
Holocaust.
I'm not the sort that usually pays attention to boycotts and
counter-boycotts, because often you don't know who you are really
hurting. But there is a good
reason why I won't be buying Norwegian products any time soon, or
cruising on the Norwegian Line.
Their stickers have caught my attention.
Bennett M. Epstein is a criminal defense lawyer practicing in New York
City. He is a former prosecutor and professor of criminal justice.
Topic: Norwegians are Boycotting Israel; We Must Boycott Norway (Read 861 times)