Norway Demands Palestinians Repay Funds, and U.S. Congress Cheers

Norway has demanded the return of funds used to pay for a Palestinian women’s center, which was then named in honor of a terrorist — and now, both members of U.S. Congress and leadership of America’s Jewish society are cheering the move.

The Norway demand came after Palestinian Media Watch and NGO Monitor found that the country actually helped pay for a women’s center that was tied to the Palestinian Authority — and that this center was named after Dalal Mughrabi.

Mughrabi was the leader of a Palestinian terror attack in 1978.

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Norwegian officials said that they would demand the return of the funds and the removal of the Norwegian flag from the banner in front of the center.

Last week, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry confirmed that it had received the refund. Spokesperson Gur Solberg told JNS.org: “The logo was removed immediately and the Norwegian support of $10,000 has been returned to the Norwegian Representative Office (NRO).” The NRO is Norway’s liaison to the PA.

Palestinian Media Watch Director Itamar Marcus called Norway’s action “a major breakthrough” that may signal “the beginning of a new European attitude towards the PA. For years, PMW has been showing European leaders what the PA was doing with their money to glorify terror, and the Europeans tried to excuse it. I hope this is ending now.”

Olga Deutsch, the director of NGO Monitor’s Europe Desk, praised the Norwegian government for “insisting that its funds be returned, and that its monies not be used to glorify a mass-murderer.” She said that the incident “can serve to increase awareness among donors” of the danger of funds intended for humanitarian purposes being used to “promote extremism and radicalization” in the Palestinian territories.

Norwegian political figures are applauding their government’s move, and urging it to take action in a similar case that has just come to light.

Jorund Rytman, a member of parliament for the Progress Party, which is part of Norway’s governing coalition, expressed concern about a PMW report that Norway gave $2,000 to the Yafa Cultural Center, in the PA-ruled city of Nablus. At the center’s recent dance competition, first prize was awarded to a performer whose song lyrics included, “We attacked the despicable Zionists/This is the day that Jihad is needed/Pull the trigger.” What’s more, the top three winners were presented with a golden map showing all of Israel labeled as “Palestine.”

Rytman said that “such activities are clearly contrary” to Norway’s goal of “peaceful coexistence,” and therefore, “I expect the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to recall the funds, like it did in the Dalal Mughrabi case.”

Hans Olav Syversen, a member of parliament for the opposition Christian Democratic Party, told JNS.org that he agrees with Rytman that Norway should demand return of its donation to the Nablus center, and would welcome a full review of Norwegian funding to the Palestinians.

Members of the US Congress are hailing Norway’s recent actions, and calling for Washington to take similar steps.

Congressman Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) recently introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have prohibited US funds from being used by the PA to publicly honor terrorists. The amendment was disqualified by the House Rules Committee on a technicality, but Sarah Stern — the president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) — said that she and her colleagues will be working with members of Congress to reintroduce a similar amendment “at the earliest opportunity.”

A spokesperson for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs told JNS.org that committee chair, Congressman Ed Royce (R-Calif.), “strongly agrees that US funds should not be used to honor Palestinian terrorists,” and would be open to a Congressional study to determine if any of the Palestinian institutions it currently assists are named after terrorists.

Congressman Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, said that he “applauds Norway” for its action, and is urging the US and the international community to ensure that all donations “are not used to breed future generations of Palestinians committed to violence and terror.”

Prominent voices in the US Senate are also talking about the issue.

An aide to Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Corker is “strongly opposed to US assistance being used to recognize anyone for terrorist acts,” and “is open to additional measures” by Congress to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Leading Democrats are also taking a similar stance. Marisa Kaufman, the spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), told JNS.org that “Senator Schumer believes it is abhorrent for the Palestinian Authority to honor or provide payments to those who have committed acts of terrorism against Israelis, Americans and others.”

Leaders of several major American Jewish organizations see Norway’s action as a precedent.

“We commend the Norwegian government’s decision,” said B’nai B’rith International CEO and Executive Vice President, Daniel S. Mariaschin. “All defenders of human rights and decency should condemn the glorification of terror. … We urge Congress to help end this practice by restricting US aid to the Palestinians” so that money cannot be used to fund institutions that are named after terrorists.

Betty Ehrenberg, executive director for North America at the World Jewish Congress (WJC), told JNS.org that the WJC applauds Norway’s “vigilance.”

“Civilized societies must not only unequivocally condemn terrorism, but also actively combat it through concrete actions, as demonstrated by Norway in this case,” she said.

AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann said that his organization likewise supports “a prohibition on the use of US funds for the abhorrent practice of honoring Palestinian terrorists.”