With Israel for Peace (Norwegian: Med Israel for fred, MIFF) is a Norwegian pro-Israel organisation. It styles itself as a "non-religious, non-partisan pro-Israel organisation", and has 14,000 registered members as of 2024.[1] A main concern of the organisation is what it sees as a negative bias towards Israel in mainstream Norwegian media coverage. The director of the organisation is Conrad Myrland, and the president is Lars Johan Nordgård.[2]

History and activities

MIFF was founded in 1978. Since then it has grown substantially from about 700–800 in its early years, to 2,000 around 2008, and 10,700 as of 2018.[3] In January 2009, during the First Gaza War, a peaceful rally by MIFF was attacked amid violent anti-Israel riots in Oslo.[4] By early 2014 MIFF had more than twice as many members as the main pro-Palestine organisation in Norway, the Palestine Committee of Norway.[5]

In July 2014, amid the 2014 Gaza War, the organisation accused Mads Gilbert of lying about Israel, and put ads in Norwegian newspapers debunking claims made by Gilbert.[6] The organisation was itself accused of stirring up television viewer storms against NRK reporter Sidsel Wold[7] and TV 2 reporter Fredrik Græsvik.[8] In August 2014 MIFF held a rally with up to 600 people in Oslo, with speakers including members of parliament Hans Fredrik Grøvan and Kristian Norheim.[9][10] The organisation received a record in gifts and membership fees during the month of August 2014.[11] Notable members of MIFF includes retired football player Anders Rambekk,[12] member of parliament Erlend Wiborg,[13] and former member of parliament Hallgrim Berg.[14]

In 2015, MIFF became a co-founding member of the European Alliance for Israel, planned since 2013, which included delegates from fifteen European countries, of which MIFF was the largest group by membership.[15][16]

A week after the October 7 attacks in 2023, about 500 people attended a rally in Oslo arranged by MIFF. Among the speakers were politicians such as Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug.[17]

References

  1. ^ Mydland, Ingvill (16 February 2024). "På vegne av 14.000 medlemmer krever MIFF at regjeringen fordømmer Hizbollah-angrep" [On behalf of 14,000 members MIFF demands that the government condemns Hezbollah-attack] (in Norwegian). Norge Idag. Archived 10 February 2025 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "MIFF – With Israel for peace – Europe's largest non-religious pro-Israel membership organization". With Israel for Peace. Archived 12 February 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  3. ^ Bondlid, Eli (27 April 2018). "En eventyrlig utvikling som startet med et jakkemerke" [An adventurous evolution which began with a jacket badge] (in Norwegian). Norge Idag. Archived 10 February 2025 at the Wayback Machine. "Bare i løpet av de siste ti årene har MIFFs medlemstall vokst fra 2.000 til rundt 10.700 medlemmer. ... Organisasjonen ble etablert i 1978. ... I starten hadde MIFF mellom 700-800 medlemmer."
  4. ^ Andersen, Nora Lovise Bregård (10 August 2014). "MIFF: – Vi er ikke samlet for å feire krig, men for å få til fred" [MIFF: – We are not gathered to celebrate war, but to achieve peace] (in Norwegian). Dagen. NTB. Archived 12 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ^ Eikje, Ove (11 January 2014). "MIFF "knuser" Palestinakomiteen" [MIFF "crushes" the Palestine Committee] (in Norwegian). Dagen. Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ^ Hansen, Asle (19 July 2014). "Med Israel for fred: - Mads Gilbert lyver om Israel Gilbert: - Utrolig tynt skvip" [With Israel for Peace: – Mads Gilbert lies about Israel Gilbert: – Incredibly weak rubbish] (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Archived 22 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ^ Mossum, Natalie (17 July 2014). "MIFF lagde seerstorm i NRK" [MIFF caused viewer storm in NRK] (in Norwegian). Dagen. Archived 23 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ^ Mogen, Trym (22 July 2014). "TV 2-Græsvik mener MIFF ikke bør få slippe til i det offentlige rom: Jeg går hardt ut mot de som mener jeg lyver" [TV 2-Græsvik thinks MIFF should not be allowed in the public space: I take a strong stance against those who think I lie] (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Archived 26 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ Tho Gunnersen, Anja (10 August 2014). "MIFF: - Vi er her for å få til ekte fred i Midtøsten" [MIFF: – We are here to achieve real peace in the Middle East] (in Norwegian). TV 2. Archived 12 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ "MIFF: – Vi vil få til en ekte fred i Midtøsten" [MIFF: – We want to achieve a real peace in the Middle East] (in Norwegian). Verdens Gang. 10 August 2014. Archived 14 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ^ "Med Israel for Fred satte inntekts-rekord" [With Israel for Peace set income record] (in Norwegian). Stavanger Aftenblad. Kristelig Pressekontor. 9 September 2014. Archived 12 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ^ Eikje, Ove (26 August 2010). "Fotballkjendis danner lokallag for MIFF" [Football celebrity creates local chapter for MIFF] (in Norwegian). Dagen. Archived 26 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. ^ Roer, Hans-Martin (30 July 2014). "Erlend Wiborg har meldt seg inn i "Med Israel for fred"" [Erlend Wiborg has joined "With Israel for Peace"] (in Norwegian). Fredriksstad Blad. Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ^ Solvang, Ola (19 May 2015). "Han skal mobilisere Israel-støtte i nord" [He will mobilise support for Israel in the north] (in Norwegian). Nordlys. Archived 4 December 2024 at the Wayback Machine. "Tidligere stortingsrepresentant Hallgrim Berg skal mobilisere nordlendinger for organisasjonen Israel for fred."
  15. ^ Gudvangen, Stein (3 December 2013). "Enighet om å danne israelvennlig allianse" [Agreement of forming Israel-friendly alliance] (in Norwegian). Dagen. Archived 1 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ^ Myrland, Conrad (10 May 2015). "Europeisk allianse for Israel etablert" [European alliance for Israel established] (in Norwegian). With Israel for Peace. Archived 27 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  17. ^ Wiersen, Siri Åbø; Lofstad, Ralf; Hegnar, Emma Victoria (15 October 2023). "Israel og Palestina: Person pågrepet under demonstrasjon" [Israel and Palestine: Person apprehended during demonstration] (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Archived 15 October 2023 at the Wayback Machine.