'Israel' slams Norway's PM over Kristallnacht memorial choice
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"Israel" slams Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Store for attending an alternative Kristallnacht memorial, calling it a "new moral low" and accusing him of politicizing Holocaust remembrance.
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Flowers lie on a concrete slab of the Holocaust Memorial to mark the International Holocaust Rememberance Day in Berlin on January 27, 2015. (AP)
The Israeli occupation’s foreign ministry has strongly condemned Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store for participating in an alternative Kristallnacht memorial organized by an anti-racism NGO, rather than attending the official ceremony hosted by Norway’s Jewish community.
In a statement, the ministry accused Store of “moral corruption,” saying his attendance represented “a new record of anti-Israel hostility and antisemitism," and detailing how the prime minister chose to attend an event that it claims turned the anniversary of Kristallnacht "into a weapon against the Jewish state, Israelis, and Jews."
The ministry also claimed that the organizers of the alternative event, the Norwegian Center Against Racism, exploit Holocaust remembrance to spread "anti-Israel and antisemitic messages,” and that the prime minister’s presence there “sent a dangerous message that even the memory of Holocaust victims can be manipulated for political purposes.”
Store’s Speech and Reaction
During his speech at the alternative memorial, Store reflected on Norway’s own dark history, expressing that persecution does not begin "overnight."
He stated it is "planned in broad daylight, just as the registration and deportation of Norway’s Jews in 1942 were planned meticulously, mainly by Norwegians. So we must ask: are we really that far from 1938 Nazi Germany?”
The prime minister acknowledged the absence of many Jewish community members at the event, noting they had “made it clear they did not wish to be here.” Still, he emphasized that hate today can manifest in new ways, including online and even “at memorials.”
“As prime minister, I want to say that my government will do everything possible to protect, support, and stand by Norway’s Jews and all minorities,” he stated.
Despite these remarks, criticism from the Israeli occupation and Jewish groups in Norway remained sharp, accusing the government of politicizing Holocaust remembrance.
