Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has apologised for a formulation used when describing Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
On January 12th, Aftenposten wrote in an article about Kushner that “the Jew Kushner reportedly pushed for David M. Friedman as the new ambassador to Israel”.
The Norwegian Jewish umbrella organisation Det Mosaiske Trossamfund (DMT), the country’s EJC affiliate, took offence to the wording and asked the newspaper to issue an apology.
“It is antisemitic when Aftenposten journalists believe that Kushner’s Jewish identity explains why he allegedly pushed to get Friedman as ambassador. This is a coarse generalisation based on the myth that Jews have a different loyalty. The accusation that Jews have a different loyalty is an accusation that is hundreds of years old,” DMT head Ervin Kohn said.
Aftenposten news editor, Tove Tveøy Strøm–Gundersen told the same source that the newspaper has sent an apology to the Jewish community.
“This is a term that has also been used in an antisemitic context. It was not our intention to create that kind of negative association. We’ve discussed this internally and concluded that it is right to apologise for the choice of wording,” she said.
