Raymond Johansen, who was Governing Mayor (byrådsleder) in Oslo from 2015 to 2023, has become Secretary General (no less) of Norwegian People’s Aid (Norsk Folkehjelp). He therefore throws himself into the hate campaign against Israel. “Terrorists” is what he calls the Israelis and calls for harsh sanctions against the Middle East’s only functioning democracy, the descendants of the Holocaust.

This is typical of Johansen (65), who is in fact a Socialist Left Party (SV) member. It was there that he began his political career, largely without education and with a bit of plumbing work as his only work experience. His personal secretary was reportedly Thor Gjermund Eriksen (no comment).

These days he appears on NRK broadcasts from the Middle East day after day, displaying his hatred of the leaders of the Jews and Zionists in general — openly and without pretence. He knows that he is on home ground and thrives like a worm in manure.

– Occupied land

“What Israel is doing in terms of new settlement on the West Bank is pure terrorism.” He is referring to the fact that so-called settlers have expanded their areas on the West Bank, and says that Israel is doing this under the cover of the Iran war, now that the world’s attention is directed there and not as intensely towards Israel.

With great fanfare he asserts that the West Bank (and Gaza, for that matter) are occupied territories, and passes smoothly over the fact, known to those with a little knowledge, that the matter is not in fact so simple. Far from it. The opposite may, as is well known, be asserted more than plausibly: that this was part of Israel’s original land, as the country was formed — on the drawing board early in the previous century and in practice immediately after the war and the Holocaust in 1948). Not a word about this.

Calls for new sanctions

Not a word was said about the fact that Israel is in reality compelled to neutralise, if necessary eliminate, its enemies all around its own borders, whether in Gaza, on the West Bank, or in southern Lebanon.

Not a word about the fact that Israel has been surrounded by enemies and has experienced a dozen wars and several outright massacre operations, most recently on 7 October 2023 when Hamas (Gaza) in the most bestial manner killed more than 1,200 Israelis and other random victims, which initiated the war/siege of Gaza and the attempted elimination of Hamas.

Not a word about the fact that Israel, commendably, is the only country in our “Western” world that steps forward and participates with everything it has in the war against Iran. No indeed: “Israel are terrorists. We must impose sanctions on all who trade with them, banks and companies here at home,” continued the fanatic, now Secretary General of Norwegian People’s Aid.

A pure opportunist

Personally, I have suspected him of hoping that the USA and Israel fail in Iran, but we will take that next time. So I will instead say and write “God help us all” when it comes to people like Raymond Johansen.

Here one encounters something close to a genuine opportunist of the purest sort, and the Lord knows there are many of them in politics. He is cunning. Now he speaks of “our people in Norwegian People’s Aid” in southern Lebanon, who carry out “invaluable humanitarian work” in one breath, and receives ample airtime on NRK. He evidently thrives among terrorists, yet Israel is assigned the label. One knows others by oneself, evidently.

It fits like a glove with naïve Ida Creed or any other NRK journalist, in close conversation with Raymond, though in agreement on absolutely everything.

Is seen through

BUT people with a few more “grey cells” than those Raymond can display — and with a little knowledge and experience — quickly see through the pretentious plumber. I ought perhaps to have written: the plumber who has engaged in full-time politics throughout his entire adult life, and in reality has never had any civilian job at all. Education is accordingly not mentioned anywhere, as it does not exist in this “case”. Yet that did not prevent the self-assured man and Israel-hater from becoming State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Utenriksdepartementet, UD) under Jens Stoltenberg. How on earth did he manage that (a whiff of Labour Party corruption)?

No, I apologise. We will, damn it, never be rid of them, curse it. As soon as they leave politics, they appear as secretaries general in some semi-corrupt aid programme, some aid trust or NGO — there are plenty of them in such mendacious times. Or they become County Governors (statsforvaltere) or God knows what.

Raymond Johansen is a prime example, and if there were to be any question of imposing sanctions on anyone, it would have to be him and his dubious segment that came into the line of fire.