Raphael Schutz, the Israeli ambassador to Norway, was defending his nation from critics on Saturday when he wrote a post on Facebook claiming that 10 of the Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in clashes in Gaza last week had been “deeply involved in terrorism.”
But with feelings running high about the situation in Gaza, arguments about Israel dragged on for days in the post's comments — and Schutz wasn't shy about hitting back at critics.
“Industry of lies and pure antisemitism as might be expected from a descended [sic] of Quisling,” he wrote to one man. He then followed up with another comment on Monday: “Quisling would be proud of you.”
For many in Norway, that word stings. “Quisling” has come to mean a traitor or collaborator in English — last year, it briefly trended on Twitter in the United States after members of the far right marched in Charlotesville — but its origins are distinctly Norwegian.
Vidkun Quisling was the nominal head of the puppet government that ruled Norway under Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1945. Under his leadership, hundreds of Jews were sent to Germany; only 30 survived. After World War II ended, Quisling was executed by firing squad during a purge of Norwegian collaborators.
While Schutz's Norwegian hosts may not feel a kinship with Quisling's government, Schutz pointed to that history when a Norwegian Facebook user suggested that Palestinians were “freedom fighters” much like Norwegians who battled Nazis during the occupation. He then posted series of memes that contained allegations of Israeli atrocities.
“You come from a civilization that persecuted Jews for centuries and cooperated with the Nazis and today you express it by declaring the only Jewish safe heaven [sic] illegal,” Schutz retorted. “I guess you have no reservations about the legality of states as Iran, Syria, Cuba, North Korea and similar 'enlightened' societies.”
In another comment to a different Facebook user, Schutz said that “people who compare my country with the Nazis deserve to be reminded about this dark part of your very recent history. Lying about Israel is so cheap and easy here, it's time you’d be able [sic] to deal with some truth about your past.”
The remarks quickly drew attention in the Norwegian press. The Dagsavisen newspaper reported on Monday that Schutz had confirmed he wrote comments himself. He also told the newspaper that more Norwegians worked to send Jews to concentration camps in World War II than helped them, according to the article.
In another lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday, Schutz criticized the Dagsavisen report, arguing that he had never said all Norwegians were descended from Quisling — just those who told what he considered lies about Israel. Referring to some comments that described Israel as an illegal country and compared it to Nazi Germany, Schutz wrote that “any Norwegian who dares to support and promote the above mentioned lies is doing it in an historical context that makes him, or her, a metaphorical descendant of Quisling.”
Most people who commented on the explanation still criticized the ambassador for using the word as an insult. A few hours later, Schutz shared a video from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Facebook, but was greeted by more comments about Quisling.
Schutz was previously the head of the Europe division at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He took over as ambassador in Oslo in 2014 after his predecessor, Druze poet Naim Araidi, resigned following allegations of sexual harassment toward staff.
Schutz also served as Israeli's ambassador to Spain for four years, ending in 2011. As he left that post, he wrote a controversial opinion article for Haaretz that looked at the history of anti-Semitism in the country going back to the time of the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492.
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