The Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Store, was deeply criticised for attending a Kristallnacht event in Oslo run by the Anti-Racism Centre, a nonprofit organisation that has accused Israel of genocide, and co-organised by the Norwegian Palestine Committee, an institution that has heavily featured anti-Israel discourse and anti-Zionist rhetoric, according to members of the Jewish community in Oslo.
In the last three years, the Jewish Community of Oslo, has organised its own commemoration, in order to avoid attending the Anti-Racism Centre’s Kristallnacht event. PM Store, who was encouraged by Norway’s Jewish community not to attend it, did not follow the recommendation.
“Store chose to participate in a ceremony that turned a horrific episode of the murder and persecution of Jews – the anniversary of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) – into a weapon against the Jewish state, Israelis, and Jews,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said.
Yad Vashem’s chair, Dani Dayan, said, “I cannot recall a European leader engaging in Holocaust denigration as the Norwegian Prime Minister Store did this afternoon. He misused the anniversary of the November Pogrom (Kristallnacht) to partner with those who seek to leave the Jewish people stateless and defenceless again.”
The Jewish Community of Oslo’s Chief Rabbi Joav Melchior attested that “this climate is destroying the opportunity for conversation between people with different experiences and affiliations.” He continued: “It affects ordinary, good people in Norway who just want to live their Jewish and Zionist lives in peace.”
The European Jewish Congress condemned the attendance of the Norwegian Prime Minister and expressed their solidarity with the Norwegian Jewish community, calling the government to ensure that future commemorations are organised in close consultation with representative Jewish bodies.
