Norway invested a lot of money and energy in order to get elected to the Security Council. What was the purpose? Now we know. Foreign minister Ine Eriksen Søreide and UN-ambassador Mona Juul have taken an anti-Israeli stance in three different proposals which were all rejected by the US.

This is remarkable. Norway has hitherto run a middle-of-the-road-diplomacy, signaling obeisance to the Palestinian side, but not overly so.

Now the gloves are off and the foreign secretary is insistently anti-Israeli, in a voice that raises eyebrows.

Why now? It is as if Norway believed in the most left-leaning members of the Biden-administration, i.e. Robert Malley and the rejuvenation of the JCPOA – the deal with Iran.

Things are no longer what they seem or used to be. Mona Juul’s husband, Terje Rød-Larsen, one of the negotiators behind the Oslo Accords, had to leave his position in the International Peace Institute. He had failed to inform the board about his personal financial dealings with Jeffrey Epstein.

Rød-Larsen has become one in a long line of notabilities who have compromised themselves. Norwegians used to think we were above the fray. Now we are dabbling with China and Tunisia in framing Israel.

This is not a position we are used to. Norwegian media are complicit and will not denounce the foreign minister.

But the question needs to be asked: How did Norway end up besmirching Israel on the world stage? Israel is a far more consummate player than Norway and will not be diverged, only irritated. The damage to Norway’s reputation is real. We have used our five minutes of fame to make fools of ourselves.

Except: Antisemitism is no foolery.

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