From pro-Palestinian Norway to sympathetic Denmark and Sweden in between.

From completely pro-Palestinian Norway to sympathetic to Israel Denmark with Sweden in between.

The capitals Northern European countries are evidence of the achievements and sophistication of the Western civilization.

To realize our desire to explore Scandinavian countries we decided to visit three capitals of Sweden, Denmark and Norway: Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo. On the advice of the travel guru, Rick Steves, we started our sightseeing by viewing the City Halls in these three Northern European cities. During the guided tour by knowledgeable presenters we were impressed by the architectural uniqueness and originality of all three municipal centers. We also received introduction to the history of these parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchies. The citizens of all three countries enjoy a comprehensive social safety net that provides broad range of benefits and services and it is supported financially by taxation system which is acceptable to the people of the countries. Our sightseeing was not limited to the City Halls only, we visited royal palaces, public parks, took a boat tour between the numerous islands surrounding Stockholm and enjoyed the beautiful canals of Copenhagen. Wherever we were going, the information provided by tour guides and the materials in English in all the sightseeing attractions, enriched our knowledge of the origins of these European countries and its capitals, which history is going back many centuries. We will never forget the Oslo’s Munch museum and the painting ‘Scream’, an illustrative example of the expressionist movement; the opera house with the sloping marble rooftop on which we walked and enjoyed the views of the city and the statues of Gustav Vigeland, showing the circle of life from its inception to death.

Although the trip to Scandinavia was full of exciting discoveries many observations and encounters left us disappointed.

We were using the ‘Hop-On and Hop Off’ sightseeing transportation in all Scandinavian capitals. While in Copenhagen, we were getting on the Hop On Hop Off bus, the driver greeted us friendly. We took up the front two seats closest to the driver which provided an excellent location to view the city. The driver continued to talk to us and explicitly stated his political views which made us feel uncomfortable. He was praising the actions of Russia, China and Iran, stating that their alliance will gain the power and East will win over the West. He stated that America and Israel will go down. It is not in the driver’s list of functions to propagate his/her political preferences to the tourists.  We just left this bus and took the next one.

In all three capitals we witnessed numerous times the expression of pro-Palestinian sympathies. People were wearing Palestinian flags and there were posters with the pro-Palestinian content. Not even once did we saw or heard a pro-Israeli support message.

In Oslo we witnessed in the center of town a pro-Palestinian demonstration of thousands of people. Among the demonstrators were participants of various origins but mostly of Middle Eastern ancestry.

In Copenhagen our hotel was located close to the area called ‘The Meatpacking District’. Once an industrial and gritty part of the town now it has been transformed into a fashionable locale full of galleries, nightlife and restaurants. In the evening we went to explore the famous area.

We did find a restaurant with the name ‘Gaza Grill’ which tables were adorned with Palestinian flag. The waiters were wearing T-shirt with pro-Palestinian message.  We did not see a restaurant by the name ‘Haifa Delicatessens’ next to the obviously pro-Palestinian establishment.

We went to visit the Copenhagen synagogue, it did not happen because you have to book tickets in advance for a guided tour of the synagogue. The Copenhagen synagogue was guarded by two policemen armed with the automatic raffles. The Gaza Grill restaurant in the Meatpacking District did not need to be guarded by armed policemen, the place was full of people.

From the moment we witnessed the episodes of pro-Palestinian support during our travels in Northern Europe, we were hoping to see signs backing of Israel. However, I have to repeat myself, not even once did we see or heard a pro-Israeli support message.

The Jewish State needs to invest more resources of various kinds in the promotion of its positive image to the international community.

Common sense says that the barbaric October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas should’ve triggered overwhelming support for Israel and its citizens. What can be more horrific and unhuman than killings of unarmed people of all ages, beheading corpses, raping young girls, burn babies and taking wounded hostages to Gaza. However, reaction of the international community was the worldwide explosion of the anti-Israeli and antisemitic sentiments. The Jewish State is fighting Hamas not only on the battle fields and in the underground tunnels of Gaza but on the informational front.

The Israeli public relation strategy is based on the concept of ‘Hasbara’ which means explaining its actions with the hope the hostile counterparts will understand and respond positively toward the Jewish State. But it did not work before and, especially it is useless now when the universities of the liberal democracies, very often in tune with the ideas of political and intellectual elite, are propagating the notion that Israel is the aggressor and Palestinians are victims.

There is a need for Israel to develop a different approach to affect the public opinion.

“Our global messaging should catch our enemies off guard and force them to react to us. To do this, we need to shift our mindset for the next 50 years. We need a separate security arm, on par with the Mossad, Shin Bet, and the IDF. Start with elite team, but the goal must be a large resource-rich organization staffed with cyber experts, AI specialists, video producers, graphic designers, advertising professionals, behavioral scientists and intelligence officers.”

This undertaking will require the approval of necessary funds by the Knesset and governmental enthusiastic involvement which, at the present, is prioritizing other issues over the public imaging “leaving it up to the Diaspora, entities like the Jewish Agency, and even private influencers to tell Israel’s story”.

Now back to our trip to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo and its Jewish Diaspora. Presence of the armed policemen guarding the Copenhagen synagogue points to the possibility of the physical harm to the Denmark’s Jewish population, the consequential factor which may negatively affects the strength of their messaging regarding Israel.

From completely pro-Palestinian Norway to sympathetic to Israel Denmark with Sweden in between.

Norway.

In the not-too distant past, Norway was acting as a conciliator and go between warring parties to resolve the conflicts. We all remember the Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995, when Norwegian’s participation and efforts played a significant role in producing visible outcomes.

The present government of Norway, a coalition of Labour and Center Parties, took up a strong pro-Palestinian position, with its foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, leading the anti-Israeli stance. In May of 2024, Norway recognized Palestine as an independent state and thus, joined Spain and Ireland in this damaging to Israel decision.

Not surprising, the antisemitic incidents in Norway have increased significantly after the October 7 attack. The country’s 1,500 Jews are reporting hostility towards them at the levels not seen since WWII.

It was during our visit to Oslo we witnessed at the center of the city the pro-Palestinian demonstration of thousands of people of various origins.

Denmark.

Under the leadership of the Social Democrats the Denmark policies towards Israel have changed. Successive coalitions governments with the Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen at the helm, reaffirmed their support for Jewish State and introduced measures and laws to limit the migration with the goal to reduce the number of asylum applicants in the country to zero. “At the current rate, Frederiksen and the Social Democrats might well be on their way to succeeding with the plan”.

The common-sense ideology of the Denmark’s Social Democrats in regards of Israel is based on several factors.

Denmark for many years sees itself as a close ally of United States and, consequently, follows American’s position on Israel.

The country’s effort to save its Jewish population during WWII, when 7,000 Danish Jews escaped to Sweden to avoid the transportation to the Nazi death camp, considered by the current Social Democrats as an event in the Denmark history to be proud of.

The present Danish hardline stance on immigration is “influenced by Huntingtonian  ‘Clash of civilizations’ narratives, it often views issues related to Muslims and migration through the lens of cultural confrontation”.  The Social Democrats see Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, as surrounded by the illiberal Muslim countries.

Sweden.

Pro-Palestinian sympathies of the previous left-leaning government have changed with the current liberal-conservative government of Sweden-it stated its support for Israel’s right to self-defense. However, this solace is conditional and Sweden in 2025 applied pressure on the Israeli government by advocating for sanctions against extremist Israeli ministers.

There was time when American socialist orientated liberals were looking at Sweden as an example for the United States to become a welfare state. At this time, Sweden had an exceptional health care system and education. It enjoyed a low rate of crime and strong cohesion of the population. But it has changed drastically in the last several decades.

Sweden became a country with the highest rate of gangland killings in Europe. “As gangland violence is spreading across border, its Scandinavian neighbors experience growing fears of ending up in what is known in Denmark as the ‘Swedish condition”. Another problem facing Sweden, created by the open-door immigration policy, the migrants from countries with Muslim population entered in such high numbers that there is a real possibility to elect a radical Islamist party to the parliament. Feeling the strength in number of Muslims, the Islamists call for a divided legal system, where Sharia law applies for Muslim citizens. ”The key question is whether the rule of law will prevail against forces that are intent on creating a parallel society that is ruled by gangs and clans and infused with values of radical Islam”.

To tackle the stated above problems the current government created a legislation based on the policies and initiatives implemented in Denmark. Only the time will tell if this is working.

Conclusion

For our descendants to be able to enjoy as we did the beauty and sophistication of the Western Northern European civilization there are certain actions which the governments of EU and Norway, which is not a member of the organization, should undertake.  First, not to repeat the Sweden open-door policy on immigration; second, in advance of their entering the country, to develop means for the youth migrants to integrate into European culture and thirdly, which is the most important, for the Europeans to be proud of its heritage and reject cultural relativism.

For Israel to counter the lies and distortions of enemies like Hamas, the country needs to prioritize the creation of the organization responsible for the public image of the Jewish state and treat it as a national necessity.