Is the harsh anti-Israeli trend of the Norwegian media about to change?
According to a report that was broadcast this week in the central news program of the important national television channel in Norway, NRK, known for its hostility towards Israel, the answer seems to be yes. The person who is chiefly responsible for this extraordinary report is none other than the New Israeli ambassador to Norway, Prof. Na’im Araidi, member of the Druse community.
Under the title “The Palestinian TV disseminates hatred and demonization against Israel.” an 11-minute long report was broadcast in the channel, in which the Palestinian Authority was attacked, no less, for the incitement and hatred against Israel and the Jews. The report levels criticism against the Norwegian government for financing the incitement and hatred for Israel with the aid money it transfers to the Authority.
The report brings examples of demonization and hatred, which present, for example, children’s programs that treat the Jews and the Zionists like a devil that must be killed. The reporter obtained the examples from members of the organization “Palestine Media Watch (PMW) which is an Israeli right wing independent organization not connected to the government of Israel. The reporter also interviewed a researcher from the center for the Holocaust research in Oslo, who watched the hateful excerpts and stated that this is clear and absolute antisemitism.
In addition, the reporter interviewed Palestinians who believe that the Protocols of the Elders of Zion are truthful, and he also severely criticized the culture of glorification and carnival for the terrorists jailed in Israel.
In the report a Norwegian citizen who has been living for many years in Israel and following the Israeli media was interviewed as well. He said that in contrast to the Palestinian media, in the Israeli one there is no demonization of the Palestinians, except maybe in the settlers’ media channels, which are not part of the mainstream.
The reporter severely criticized the Norwegian government that had transferred more than 50 million dollars since 2008 to the Palestinian Authority, which is in charge of the Palestinian media. The Deputy Minister of Foreign affairs, Turgir Larsen, noted in response that “there are clear messages of hatred also in the Israeli side”, and explained that since Israel is a much more advanced society “the ability to criticize sources in the Israeli mainstream is much better” compared to the Palestinians. However, Larsen clarified that the Norwegian government had brought up the issue of incitement with the Palestinian Authority, but halting the financial aid is not an option.
This report is a first of its kind in its severity, which is broadcast in a TV channel known for its hostility to Israel; it attacks the Palestinian side and raises questions regarding the Norwegian financing accorded to the Palestinian Authority. In the past, the Israeli embassy even filed a complaint against the channel’s bias to the Journalists union.
Sources in the Israeli embassy estimate that “this is a mile stone and that a report of this type would not have been possible a few years ago”. They further noted that there is a sense of a positive change toward Israel.”
The Israeli ambassador Araidi is a poet and professor of Hebrew literature, and an ethnic Druse. From 1980 and until he was appointed ambassador, prof. Araidi served as a lecturer of Hebrew literature and education in the Gordon College in Haifa. In addition, he served as director of the center for children’s literature in the Arab college for education in Haifa. In the past he was a lecturer of Hebrew literature at Bar-Ian University and as a lecturer of instruction and comparative Hebrew literature at Haifa University.
