Norway ex-PM decries ‘double standard’ allowing Israel to have nukes
Former leader says Pakistan, India and Jewish state not being signatories to non-proliferation treaty undermines efforts to contain Iran
MONACO — At a conference on tolerance in Europe, a former leader of Norway said that Israel was part of the problem undermining efforts to limit the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Kjell Magne Bondevik, whose last term as Norwegian prime minister ended in 2005, singled out Pakistan, India and the Jewish state in a speech Tuesday in Monaco’s Cafe de Paris during a conference on tolerance by the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation — a think tank headed by European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
“We have used wars and occupation of Muslim countries,” Bondevik, a Lutheran pastor and founder of the Oslo Center, said in prefacing his comments about nuclear proliferation. “Of course this does not excuse terrorism but we need to be more consistent. The same can be said about nuclear proliferation, but how to approach countries like Pakistan, India and Israel? Is this a double standard? We have to question ourselves and we have to be aware that many in the Muslim world may use this as an excuse and talk of double standard in this regard.”
Moshe Kantor, the president of the European Jewish Congress and of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, said that Bondevik’s observation is part of “endless talk” on this subject, which he said does not help find practical solutions.
“This attitude in which everything is seen as connected, if we continue we will never come to see the realization of our goal: Practical, on-the-ground recommendations for civil society,” Kantor said at the conference in Monaco, titled “Tackling Extremism and Intolerance in a Diverse Society.”
In 2015, Iran signed a deal with six world powers that lifted international sanctions from the Islamic Republic in exchange for its dialing back of some elements of its nuclear program, which Western intelligence agencies said was aimed at achieving offensive capabilities.
Unlike Iran, India, Pakistan and Israel have not signed the 1968 UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Both southern Asian countries said they have nuclear weapons. Israel is believed to possess them, as well, but it has neither denied nor confirmed this.
In a possible reference to Israel, Bondevik also said that a main reason for “extremism is humiliation, and occupation can create the feeling of humiliation.”
The Times of Israel covers one of the most complicated, and contentious, parts of the world. Determined to keep readers fully informed and enable them to form and flesh out their own opinions, The Times of Israel has gradually established itself as the leading source of independent and fair-minded journalism on Israel, the region and the Jewish world.
We've achieved this by investing ever-greater resources in our journalism while keeping all of the content on our site free.
Unlike many other news sites, we have not put up a paywall. But we would like to invite readers who can afford to do so, and for whom The Times of Israel has become important, to help support our journalism by joining The Times of Israel Community. Join now and for as little as $6 a month you can both help ensure our ongoing investment in quality journalism, and enjoy special status and benefits as a Times of Israel Community member.
comments