By JPOST.COM STAFF
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Norway last week of upholding anti-Semitic and anti-Israel policies, Army Radio reported Tuesday.
Lieberman fiercely criticized the Norwegian government during the UN General Assembly in New York, demanding answers from Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre regarding talks Oslo had been holding with Hamas. He then brought up what he termed Norway's "quiet support" of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, noting that Norwegian representatives to the UN did not leave the room during the Iranian leader's New York speech.
Lieberman also mentioned the Norwegian Culture Ministry's commemoration of Nazi-affiliated author Knut Hamsun, who had once eulogized Hitler in the Norwegian daily Aftenposten as a "warrior for mankind."
In response, Støre denied the allegations of anti-Semitism, explaining that the commemoration was not political in nature and that a distinction was made between Hamsun's work and his world view.
However, former Foreign Ministry director-general Alon Liel told Army Radio that "Norway is trying to send us messages on different fronts" through its talks with Hamas and "intolerance toward settlements."
"They are tough Vikings and are not intimidated, not even by Lieberman," concluded Liel. "[Norway] is an ideological opponent which has decided to teach us a lesson."
Lieberman first voiced his criticism of Norwegian policies in August, after a newspaper in neighboring Sweden published a controversial article accusing Israel of organ harvesting.
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