With Israel for Peace (Norwegian : Med Israel for fred, MIFF) is a Norwegian pro-Israel organisation. It styles itself as a "non-religious, non-partisan pro-Israel organisation", and has more than 11,000 registered members as of 2017. [1] A main concern of the organisation is what it sees as a negative bias towards Israel in mainstream Norwegian media coverage. [1] The director of the organisation is Conrad Myrland, and the president is Morten Fjell Rasmussen. [1]
MIFF was founded in 1978. Since then it has grown substantially from 1,200 members in 2005, to more than 11,000 as of 2017. [1] In January 2009, during the Gaza War, a peaceful rally by MIFF was attacked amid violent anti-Israel riots in Oslo. [2] By early 2014 MIFF had more than twice as many members as the main pro-Palestine organisation in Norway, the Palestine Committee of Norway. [3]
In July 2014, amid the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, the organisation accused Mads Gilbert of lying about Israel, and put ads in Norwegian newspapers debunking claims made by Gilbert. [4] The organisation was itself accused of stirring up television viewer storms against NRK reporter Sidsel Wold [5] and TV 2 reporter Fredrik Græsvik. [6] In August 2014 MIFF held a rally with up to 600 people in Oslo, with speakers including members of parliament Hans Fredrik Grøvan and Kristian Norheim. [7] [8] The organisation received a record 900.000 kr in gifts and membership fees during the month of August 2014. [9] Notable members of MIFF includes retired football player Anders Rambekk, [10] member of parliament Erlend Wiborg, [11] and former member of parliament Hallgrim Berg. [12]
In 2015 MIFF became a co-founding member of the European Alliance for Israel, which included delegates from fifteen European countries, of which MIFF was the largest group by membership. [13] [14]
In October 2023, amid the 2023 Israel–Hamas war about 500 people attended a rally in Oslo arranged by MIFF. Among the speakers were politicians such as Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug. [15]
Maria Viktoria Mena is a Norwegian pop singer, best known for her singles such as "You're the Only One", "Just Hold Me", "All This Time" which charted in multiple countries.
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 7 and 8 September 1969. Although the Labour Party remained the largest party, winning 74 of the 150 seats, the coalition of right-of-centre parties won 76 seats and retained power. The closeness of the result and fears of the two blocs winning an equal number of seats led to the number of seats being increased to an odd number for the next elections.
Vidar Sveinung Kleppe is a Norwegian politician. He was a member of parliament and deputy leader of the Progress Party until he was suspended and left the party in 2001. He was the founder and leader of the Democrats party from 2002 to 2012, and has since 2003 held public office as a member of the Vest-Agder county council and the Kristiansand municipal council.
Andreas Viestad is a Norwegian food columnist and TV chef and restaurateur. He has hosted seven seasons of New Scandinavian Cooking broadcast in the U.S., China, Germany, Italy, Finland, and on BBC Food, as well as over fifty other countries since 2003, and has been food writer for various newspapers in Norway in addition to a columnist in The Washington Post, titled "The Gastronomer". Viestad has been called "Norway's most exciting food writer", and "Norway's culinary ambassador". He is a restaurateur behind the Oslo restaurants St Lars, Salome and Spaghetteria, and creative partner for Ambassaden, a multi-restaurant project in the former US embassy in Oslo, a landmark building designed by Eero Saarinen. He is the founder of Geitmyra Culinary Center for Children in Oslo, Ringsaker, Kristiansand and Tønsberg.
Guro Fjellanger was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party. She served as Minister of the Environment in the first cabinet Bondevik from 1997 to 2000. She was a private consultant and a board member of several government agencies and organisations, and a member of two government-appointed commissions.
Friends of Israel in the Parliament of Norway is a pro-Israel caucus group consisting of members of the Parliament of Norway.
Christian Tybring-Gjedde is a Norwegian politician who represented the Progress Party until 2024. He has been a member of the Norwegian parliament since 2005, and was the leader of the Progress Party's Oslo chapter from 2010 to 2014.
Sylvi Listhaug is a Norwegian politician who has been the leader of the Progress Party since 2021.
Visjon Norge is a Norwegian Christian television station, which was launched in 2003 as the first Scandinavian Christian television channel to air 24 hours a day. It can be reached throughout Scandinavia by satellite. The founder and executive editor of the channel is Jan Hanvold. A sister channel based in Sweden was launched in 2015, and later also in Denmark.
Mazyar Keshvari is an Iranian-born Norwegian former politician for the Progress Party and a convicted felon who is serving two prison sentences for fraud and violent threats. He was elected as a substitute member of the Norwegian parliament for the city of Oslo in 2013, representing the right-wing and anti-immigration Progress Party, and attended parliamentary sessions from 2013 to 2018 as the substitute of the mandate holder Siv Jensen who has been on leave from parliament during her government service. As a politician he was known for taking a hard stance on immigration, calling for a complete ban on further immigration to Norway, a stop to the practice of accepting asylum seekers in Norway, and the deportation of immigrants convicted of crimes. In 2019 he was convicted of aggravated fraud for defrauding the Norwegian parliament and in 2020 he was sentenced to 11 months imprisonment. He left the Norwegian parliament following his indictment in 2018 and also left the Progress Party in October 2019. In 2019 he was also arrested and charged with making violent threats, and he was convicted and sentenced to an additional four months in prison in 2020.
Israel–Norway relations are the bilateral relations between Israel and Norway. Norway was one of the first countries to recognize Israel, doing so on 4 February 1949.
On 29 December 2008, a large-scale series of riots broke out across Oslo, Norway, two days after Israel initiated "Operation Cast Lead" against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Stemming from ongoing pro-Palestinian protests in the city, the initial riots took place outside of the Embassy of Israel and continued for almost two weeks. The most violent and destructive riots took place on 8 and 10 January, when hundreds or thousands of demonstrators spread throughout Oslo and attacked public and private property as well as civilians: the rioters mainly targeted Jews and people suspected of being Jewish, but also attacked people affiliated with the LGBT community and known and suspected pro-Israel activists. Additionally, violent clashes between the demonstrators and Norwegian police officers led to hundreds of injuries. Between 29 December and 10 January, the Oslo Police had arrested around 200 people, mostly Muslims, of whom a significant number were registered asylum seekers. The rioters had been supported by left-wing activists of Blitz.
Stop Islamisation of Norway is a Norwegian anti-Muslim group that was originally established in 2000. Its stated aim is to work against Islam, which it defines as a totalitarian political ideology that violates the Norwegian Constitution as well as democratic and human values. The organisation was formerly led by Arne Tumyr, and is now led by Lars Thorsen.
Hanne Stine Nabintu Herland is a Norwegian author, who hosts a website and Youtube channel both named the Herland Report. She has a master's degree in history of religions from the University of Oslo.
Eskil Pedersen is a Norwegian politician and former leader of the Workers' Youth League (AUF) from 2010 to 2014, the youth organisation associated with Norway's leading Labour Party.
Profetens Ummah was a Salafi-jihadist Islamist organisation based in Norway. Since its emergence in late 2011 the group has become notorious for its vocal demonstrations, as well as statements praising Islamic terrorism.
Per Meland is a Norwegian businessman and media entrepreneur. Meland has co-founded several companies within media, publishing and technology. He has also directed documentaries, and owns an award-winning restaurant.
Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. He has been one of the party's deputy leaders since 2019 and a member of parliament for Troms since 2013.
NORWAC is a Norwegian non-governmental organization founded in 1983, and since 1994 organised as a foundation.
Lars Akerhaug is a Norwegian journalist and non-fiction author. He currently writes for the liberal-conservative periodical Minerva with a focus on Islamic extremism, and has previously written for newspapers Verdens Gang and Aftenposten, and as a freelancer.
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