Rishon Rishon

Excellent points David! I found your blog from Bjørn's trackback.

Det Mosaiske Trossamfund, the main Jewish congregation in Norway, has issued a press release about this. It might be worth reading - as it tells more of the story than most blogs do. Here it is:

Unfair criticism against SOS Racism

Det Mosaiske Trossamfund in Oslo (DMT) notes that there is a debate in the media, after a group of people were stopped by the police during SOS Racism's demonstration in memory of the Kristallnacht on November 9. Accusations have been made against SOS Racism which we would like to comment on:

It is not correct that DMT as a congregation, or Jews as individuals, were unwanted at the demonstration. We deeply regret that such accusations have been made. It is unknown to us that Jewish symbols, such as the star of David, were unwanted at the event. What we were made aware of, and which we see as a correct decision, is that one wanted to ban national flags at the demonstration. From what we know, this was done to prevent the event from turning into a demonstration connected with the Middle East conflict or the war in Iraq.

DMT was invited to participate in the event, which we declined. This has to do with our skepticism against the way this event has taken place in Oslo the last years, where the demonstration in our view has turned into a political event, going far beyond the original intention. For us as survivors and descendants of survivors of the horrible crimes of the Nazis, it is sad that forces which in many ways use the same arguments against Jews which fascists and Nazis in their time used, are invited to take part in such an event. Or to say it even clearer: The Kristallnacht was the opening shot for the Nazi persecution of Jews in Europe, and the events that day were largely directed against Jewish businesses and institutions. Today we see that groups on the far left wing of the political landscape, together with some Muslim communities, (which we hope do not represent Muslims in general), use these very same methods. Jewish schools, retirement homes, cemeteries, and community houses are being attacked all over Europe along with Israely embassies and consulates. We see this beginning to happen also here. And it is mainly the same groups which are behind these acts here, as in the rest of the world. For us as Jews it becomes impossible to take part in such an event against racism, when other participants in the same demonstration carry banners which in Arabic contain clearly racist messages. But we are aware that SOS Racism has become aware of this, and that they in connection with this year's event did their utmost to avoid precisely these things. We wish to congratulate the organization for this, and that is why we also regret the criticism which is now directed against the organizers.

Even though we have been critical to parts of the event, we as a Jewish congregation do not in any way wish to stand in the way of these annual events, or to harm them in any way. Nor have we encouraged our members to stay away from the demonstrations.

As Norwegian Jews, we believe in dialogue as a means to greater understanding. We therefore completely reject any form of activism which furthers confrontation and builds up under increased opposition and hatred between ethnic groups. We therefore believe it was very unwise of some of our members to behave in a way which clearly would provoke other participants of the event in Oslo on November 9. This was not made any easier for us when we were made aware that people connected to right-wing extremist movements were part of this. That is why this led to the consequence that two of our members have been excluded from our congregation.

Claims are often made about increased anti-semitism in our society. To a certain degree, this is correct, but in the debate which has now begun, it is important to us to underline that the Jewish community in Norway does not experience this as an imminent danger. We see the trends, we warn against them, and we note to our satisfaction that both the government and the public deal with the problem. It is therefore completely wrong to claim that Jews see themselves as unwanted in Norway, or that anti-semitism has reached levels which create problems. It is just not true, and we should let such accusations rest until there is cause to make them. And so let us with G-d's help hope that this never occurs.

Thanks, Øyvind. Is this your translation? (It is clearly either a translation or written by a non-native speaker.)

I think they are agreeing with me, though they are constrained to use somewhat more diplomatic language than I have. As I said, the compromise reached may have been the best possible under the circumstances, and that's a shame.

Very interesting. This is another example of why we need to remain vigilant about what is said or not said about the past as it can impact both the present and the future.

The translation is made by Bjørn Stærk, I presume. I found it on his blog, anyway. I've also translated it myself, but found it to be even more obviously written by a non-native speaker :).

Perhpas more than sad; scary. The fact that Jewish symbols weren't allowed because they don't want to bring in the Middle-east conflict is counterfit as you argued on the other blog. I'm a little confused as to how the memorial was placed in any hands other than the Jewish community.

Let me repeat this again:

Jewish symbols were allowed. Only national flags and other banners than the ones agreed upon before the commemoration were not allowed. This decision was taken by the arranger, SOS Rasisme.

The title on this post is highly misleading. One can easily think that the arrangers are anti-Semites. They are absolutely not. While it is not impossible that someone holding anti-Semitic views got into the commemoration (they did not have thought-readers present), most people there were definitely not anti-Semites.

The arrangers can, however, be criticized for using the Kristallnacht to take up other issues. However, SOS Rasisme have been the only ones capable of creating a commemoration at all in most parts of Norway the last few years. I do not think it's fair to call these attempts at "de-Judaizing" the event. The historical Kristallnacht has always been in focus.

The Jewish community in Norway is small. Yet I hope that they will take an initiative next year. Then conflicts like these, that should be unnecessary on such a day, can be avoided.

Øyvind