What’s so Funny about Peace, Love, and Understanding

solidarity and mourning

Gaza City, June 23rd, 2011: in an unprecedented event, both Gaza youth and government representatives gathered spontaneously on the central square to express unconditional solidarity with Norwegian victims of the recent terror attack by mass murderer Anders Breivik.

mourning and solidarity

Related, Svein Sevje, Norway’s ambassador to Israel, said in an Israeli newspaper interview Tuesday that while the Norwergian bomb and gun rampages that killed 76 people and Palestinian attacks should both be considered morally unacceptable, he wanted to “outline the similarity and the difference in the two cases. “

Mr Breivik, bringing people together

Palestinians, he told Maariv, “are doing this because of a defined goal that is related to the Israeli occupation. There are elements of revenge against Israel and hatred of Israel. To this you can add the religious element to their actions.” “In the case of the terror attack in Norway,” Sevje said, “the murderer had an ideology that says that Norway, particularly the Labor Party, is forgoing Norwegian culture.” He added, “Can Israel and the Palestinians solve the problems without Hamas? I don’t think so.”

Moved by this reasoned assessment, Hamas officials announced they might rephrase their Charta, that explicitly refers  to “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” to mirror the spirit of diversity, interfaith dialogue, and understanding needed now more than ever.

• correction: due to deplorable editorial oversight, this article contains factual errors. Gaza youth did gather, though for other reasons than stated, while Hamas officials actually strongly denied they would consider rephrasing their Charta, ever.
• h/t: lizaswelt.net