NORWAY'S FINANCE MINISTER BACKS DOWN ON ISRAEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000028

SIPDIS


NSC FOR ABRAMS, DAMON WILSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV ETRD IS NO
SUBJECT: NORWAY'S FINANCE MINISTER BACKS DOWN ON ISRAEL
BOYCOTT STATEMENT

REF: OSLO 19

Classified By: P/E Counselor Mike Hammer, reason 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. On Friday, January 7 a shamed Kristin
Halvorsen publicly apologized for her earlier comments
supporting a boycott of Israeli goods and services. An
unofficial translation of her comments is given below in
paragraph 2. While all the major papers in Norway are united
in their criticism of Halvorsen's actions and are glad that
she and her party may have learned an important lesson about
how to behave in government, anti-Israeli sentiment in Norway
remains high. The incident clearly calls into question
Norway's future role as a peace-broker in Middle East. End
Summary.


2. (U) On January 7, Norwegian Finance Minister and junior
Coalition party (SV) leader Kristin Halvorsen apologized for
her statements on January 4 supporting her Socialist Left
party's policy of boycotting Israel. "As Finance Minister I
should not have spoken in favor of a policy towards Israel
that is not in line with official Norwegian foreign policy.
This has contributed to a lack of clarity and uncertainty
about what Norwegian policy is in this area. I have
apologized to the Foreign Minister, the Prime Minister and
the other Cabinet members. And I want to say this publicly
as well, to contribute to clarity. As Finance Minister I
must, especially because it concerns foreign policy
questions, leave this (issue) to the Foreign Minister,
because it's his responsibility, and keep myself to the
official Norwegian policy. I cannot pursue or argue for
actions or a policy that is in contradiction to what the
majority in the government support.... My main public role
is Finance Minister, and that means that I, in such delicate
questions where SV has a different view than government
policy, must shut my mouth." When asked if she would she
would apologize to Israel, as demanded by some opposition
party figures, Halvorsen responded, "I understand that this
is a sensitive question for Israel. I therefore now make it
clear that I do not advocate a different policy than that
which is the government's line."


3. (U) Halvorsen's comments were the center of political
debate in Norway over the weekend. All the major papers have
criticized her for her earlier statements and hope that she
and her party have learned a lesson as to how a government
party and a minister need to behave. A party colleague
reports that Halvorsen personally has been "absolutely
devastated" by the consequences of her statement. Also,
major dailies are reporting that senior political figures in
the Prime Minister's office have compared Halvorsen's
comments to pre-war anti-Semitic actions in Norway. Such
painful allegations of anti-Semitism have forced SV to
publicly say that the party's central board will reopen the
question of whether or how to pursue a policy of boycotting
Israel. However, anti-Israeli sentiment runs high in Norway;
for example, over the weekend the youth wing of Labor Party
told the press that it still believes that Israeli PM Sharon
is a "war criminal."


4. (U) Halvorsen's comments also have reopened a debate
about Norway's position with regard to the Israel-Palestinian
conflict. Many Norwegian commentators are anxious to point
out that the uncertainty created by Halvorsen about Norwegian
foreign policy call Norway's credibility as a peace broker
into question. The Foreign Ministry is clearly hoping to put
straight any questions about Norway's foreign policy, and
even took the extraordinary step of releasing to the press
Foreign Minister Stoere's letters to Israeli FM Shalom and
Secretary Rice. However, much damage is already done and is

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probably irreversible. For example, the press is carrying
comments by Norwegian Middle-East "experts" who say that the
Foreign Minister has gone too far in shutting Halvorsen down
and is pursuing a policy that is "servile" to Israel and
against international law.

Comment
- - - -


5. (C) Intense pressure from PM Stoltenberg and FM Stoere,
as well as Washington's tough message on Halvorsen's
outrageous comments, led to Halvorsen's retraction. A
visibly frazzled Halvorsen went as far as one could hope,
acknowledging that her support of a policy divergent from
that of the government's was out of line. She has also
learned a painful lesson and has been called to heal by
Stoltenberg. She has not apologized to Israel, but has said
that she will not in the future tout anything but the
government's line.


6. (C) As soon as this 3-party coalition was formed, with
the Socialist Left being in government for the first time,
everyone expected something like this incident. Halvorsen
needed reeling-in, and it is good that this painful episode
has not focused on one of SV's many anti-US themes.
Halvorsen and SV have been chastened and should be quieter
for some time. We hope that this will make for some smoother
sailing in our relations with the center-left Norwegian
government, at least for while.


7. (C) Foreign Minister Stoere has tried hard to reassure
the international community about the course of Norwegian
foreign policy, but Halvorsen's antics have taken a high
toll. As the after-shocks of Halvorsen's comments continue
to rumble, and Norwegian anti-Israeli sentiment continues to
be manifest, it is hard to see how the parties in the region
can view Norway as unbiased in the future. Norway's
reputation as an unbiased peace-monger certainly has taken a
hit.
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