Syrian-Born Politician Renounces Her Past Antisemitism

According to Rasmussen the intolerance towards Jews and Israel emanates from the political left. She accused the Socialist Left (SV), led by the infamous Kristin Halvorsen (SV), for facilitating anti-Semitism. In the past, Halvorsen's party has been at the forefront of anti-Israel activities. She has called for a boycott of Israeli goods and academics. This, according to Rasmussen has helped to create an image of Jews as aggressive and militant people "who just want to crush their opponents." 

Rasmussen argued that such demonization has made all the complicated nuances of the conflict irrelevant. She explicitly accused Halvorsen for the trivialization of anti-Semitism by providing a platform for extremist groups.

According to Manfred Gerstenfeld, "...part of the Norwegian elite, which falsely calls itself progressive, is obsessed with Israel. This includes the leftwing government, many media, NGOs and part of the academic world. There are at most 1 300 Jews in Norway, of which 700 are organized in two communities, Oslo and Trondheim. They also are subject to the obsessive attention of the Norwegian elite."

Stoltenberg’s words should be taken seriously by the Socialist Left. More tolerance and more freedom should mean that also those who do not belong to the anti-Israel left are heard and not demonized. In other words, the intolerant should not be celebrated at the expense of the tolerant.