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Victims of an Israeli bomb attack in Rafah on 28 December. Photo: MOHAMMED ABED / AFP / NTB
The Storting will soon decide whether Norway should boycott Israel. Almost every other Norwegian thinks it is right.
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Less than 20 minutes ago
– This says a lot about the major changes in attitude in Norwegian public opinion. Ever since the 80s, there has been a gradual change in public opinion in a more pro-Palestinian direction, at the same time that Norwegians are becoming more critical of Israel’s policies, says Hilde Henriksen Waage to VG.
She is professor of history at UiO and senior researcher at PRIOPRIOPRIO stands for The Peace Research Institute Oslo. It is an independent social science research institute in Oslo, organized as a private foundation.
– The figures tell us that half of the Norwegian people think that this war has gone too far – and they believe that the Norwegian government and the rest of the international community are not using strong enough instruments to stop Israel’s warfare, she says, when she is presented with the results of the survey.
The measurement made by Respons analysis on behalf of VG shows:
- 47 percent respond that they are positive about boycotting Israel
- 27 percent answer that they are negative
- 27 percent are not sure
The positive attitude towards a boycott of Israel applies far from only voters on the left: it is only among those who plan to vote for the Frp and KrF at the next election who are negative than positive.
So many people are positive about boycotts in each party:
Info
Facts about the survey
VG has asked the question of a boycott of Israel in connection with the latest party barometer Respons Analyze carried out for VG, between 3 and 8 January.
1,000 interviews have been conducted, and the margin of error is +/- 2–3 percentage points.
This is the distribution within each party between those who are positive and negative about boycotting Israel. The rest are not sure.
Red: 84% positive, 8% negative.
SV: 70 %positive, 13 % negative.
The Labor Party: 48% positive, 23% negative.
Center Party: 53% positive, 19% negative.
Venstre: 48 % positive, 34 % negative.
Right: 40% positive, 34% negative.
Frp: 25 % positive, 55 % negative.
KrF: 13 % positive, 62 % negative.
Sea view
Compares with Ukraine
– Many people react to the extremely brutal warfare against the Palestinians. Record numbers of children are being killed, record numbers of journalists are being killed, and they are attacking schools and UN camps. Most Norwegians want Norway to react more strongly to these violations of international law, and therefore I think support for boycotts is also increasing, says former Rødt leader Bjørnar Moxnes.
HARD OUT: Red, here with former party leader Moxnes and current party leader Sneve Martinussen, has come up with several proposals for harsh sanctions against Israel. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
Moxnes is back at work at the Storting on Wednesday, after being on sick leave since November. There he sits on the foreign affairs committee.
They are in the process of processing several proposals from SV and Red on, among other things, an arms embargo against Israel, a ban on trade in Israeli goods and services, and the freezing of the free trade agreement with Israel.
– It is no less serious that international law is violated in Gaza than that it is violated in Ukraine. We are in favor of tough measures against Russia’s leadership, then we must also advocate tough measures against the Israeli leadership, says Moxnes.
The left wants sanctions
Both SV and Rødt have long been in favor of a boycott of Israel. But after the brutal war in Gaza has been going on for over three months, several parties are at loggerheads:
Venstre’s Ola Elvestuen said in November to TV2 that boycott is not right as the war stood. Now the Liberal Party is also putting forward several proposals for sanctions against Israel.
WANT SANCTIONS: Abid Raja (V) believes that Norway should take the initiative for sanctions in cooperation with other countries, if they are not to be introduced alone. Photo: Tore Kristiansen / VG
They will ask the government to “prevent Norway from importing goods from illegal settlements, occupied land and companies that contribute to violations of international law and human rights in illegally occupied areas”.
– If the government does not want to introduce a ban, they should at least introduce official advice against trading in goods from occupied Palestinian land, says Abid Raja.
He points out that Israeli politicians have advocated “migration” of Palestinian civilians out of Gaza.
– This is a population that has suffered for tens of years, and now they are being collectively punished by one of the world’s strongest military powers. Some of them talk to the government about driving everyone away from Gaza – that is the definition of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
ENGAGING: The war in Gaza arouses strong engagement around the world. The picture is from a demonstration in Oslo in December. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
Not government policy
But sanctions against Israel are not on the government’s agenda. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) has called Gaza “hell on earth”, but says Norway cannot implement its own national sanctions.
– I think the most important thing we can do is use the means we have to stop the war. Norwegian sanctions policy is that we do not have our own sanctions – we are part of international sanctions largely adopted by the UN Security Council, or common European sanctions, says Åsmund Aukrust (Ap), who is deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the Storting.
– Would it not be able to send a signal if Norway adopted sanctions?
– The goal is not for it to be a symbolic signal for ourselves, the goal is for it to have an effect.
NEGATIVE: Åsmund Aukrust says Norway does a lot for Palestine, but that sanctions should be something several countries come together on. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB
He points out that Norway was the only Nordic country to vote for a UN resolution on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza at the end of October. A month later they all voted for a similar resolution, who received overwhelming majority.
– It shows that what Norway does actually has an impact. It is important what Norway thinks, but even more important what we get other countries to think. We get a lot of support among the Arab countries – and the Palestinian authorities know very well that they hardly have better friends in Europe than Norway. We shall continue to be so.
– It is important to maintain contact
Høyre’s Ine Eriksen Søreide also says that there are sanctions that have broad international support that are effective and legitimate.
– There is no broad international support for sanctions against Israel today. In the current situation, it is also important to maintain contact with both parties, among other things to help improve the situation for the Palestinian civilian population, she says.
WILL NOT: Eriksen Søreide says the Conservative Party has clearly criticized Israel for breaking international law, but that Norway is not introducing sanctions alone. Photo: Frode Hansen / VG
VG has also asked Respons to ask how people think the government should handle the conflict going forward. They have asked whether we should express more support for Israel, more support for the Palestinians, or continue as we have done so far?
- 6 percent believe Norway should express more support for Israel
- 31 percent believe Norway should express more support for the Palestinians
- 37 percent think Norway should continue as it has been doing
Published:
Published: 11.01.24 at 01:16
2024-01-11 00:16:06
#survey #Norwegian #Israel #boycott
