MP for the Progress Party (FrP) Himanshu Gulati launches a frontal attack on the Norwegian left after NTNU Professor Bassam Hussein referred to the 7 October terror attack as “the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century”.
– Pure and simple Jew-hatred and racism, says Gulati, who believes the left is absent in the struggle against antisemitism.
Hussein, who is Professor of Project Management at NTNU, made the statement during a debate meeting in Trondheim on 21 April. The meeting was organised by Sosialistisk Forum and supported by Fritt Ord. The theme was “The War Against Iran – Consequences for Europe and Palestine”.
Speaking alongside Hussein was former Workers’ Communist Party (AKP) leader Pål Steigan. Following Hussein’s contribution, he received applause from the audience.
Gulati, who is FrP’s parliamentary group leader in the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, reacts strongly to the fact that no one in the hall voiced any objection.
– I am shocked that no one present at an event organised by Sosialistisk Forum with support from Fritt Ord appears to have reacted when NTNU Professor Bassam Hussein described the terror attack against Israel, in which more than a thousand innocent people were killed, as “the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century”. This is pure and simple Jew-hatred and racism, Gulati says in a statement.
Document.no first out – Norwegian media dragged their feet
The matter first gained traction abroad before the Norwegian national media awoke. Document.no covered the incident on 1 May. Israel’s Jerusalem Post published its report on 2 May, followed by Universitetsavisa at NTNU the following day. Only on 4 May, more than two weeks after the lecture, did the capital media and Adresseavisen enter the scene.
The pattern is not new, Gulati believes.
– We have long seen that the reckoning with antisemitism in Norway is virtually absent, especially from the left. This is frightening when we see the extent of the harassment and Jew-hatred that has flourished in Norway for several years.
– Families have moved out of the country
The FrP politician points to the concrete consequences for Norwegian Jews.
– Families have moved out of the country, and Jews do not feel safe. Now it is time for the left as well to stand up for Norwegian Jews and distance themselves from Jew-hatred. We also expect the media to begin addressing and communicating how Norwegian Jews actually live in our country, says Gulati.
The concern finds resonance within the Jewish community. Ervin Kohn, leader of the National Coordinating Council for Jewish Communities in Oslo and Trondheim, has described Hussein’s statement as a glorification of violence and terror. To Adresseavisen he called it outrageous that an NTNU professor can express himself in this manner.
NTNU leaves the matter untouched – Israel demands dismissal
NTNU Rector Tor Grande points out that Hussein participated as a private individual, and that NTNU neither organised the meeting nor was represented there. The university considers the matter closed and will not open disciplinary proceedings against the professor. The Israeli embassy, for its part, has demanded that Hussein be removed from his position.
Hussein himself has defended his choice of words to VG, stating that “beautiful” was used as an analytical reference in a historical perspective – not as an ethical assessment. He maintains that he has expressed himself within the bounds of Norwegian law.
The Christian Democratic Party’s Joel Ystebø has announced that he will raise the matter during the Storting question period and is asking where the boundaries lie for statements made by employees in academia.
– We cannot remain silent
Gulati believes the matter must awaken all political camps – not only the right.
– Now Jew-hatred must be taken seriously. We see that Jewish gathering places are under heavy police protection because of threats. We cannot remain silent in the face of Jew-hatred. History has shown how dangerous this is, Gulati concludes.