Norwegian police drop case against professor who praised 7 October
Jewish campaigners vow to appeal after police ruled remarks calling the Hamas attack the ‘most beautiful thing this century’ did not amount to a criminal offence
Norwegian police have dropped an investigation into a university professor who described Hamas’s 7 October massacre as “the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century”, prompting Jewish campaigners to accuse the authorities of failing to confront the glorification of terrorism.
Bassam Hussein, a project management professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, made the remarks during a public lecture organised by the Socialist Forum on 21 April.
The case was reported to police by Norwegian anti-antisemitism campaign group StoppNRK after the comments came to light. According to The Jerusalem Post, officers have now concluded that Hussein’s remarks do not amount to a criminal offence.
In a decision issued on Thursday, investigator Arild Hansen and prosecutor Sunniva Tronvoll informed the group that the complaint had been dismissed because “the reported conduct is not considered a criminal offence.”
The letter, seen by The Jerusalem Post, states that StoppNRK has three weeks to appeal the decision to a higher prosecuting authority.
The group’s chairman, On Elpeleg, condemned the ruling and confirmed an appeal would be lodged.
“It is unbelievable and unacceptable that Norway, a country where nearly half of its Jewish population was murdered during the Holocaust, allows the glorification of the genocidal terrorist organisation Hamas,” he told The Jerusalem Post.
He added: “It is becoming increasingly unsafe to be a Jew – or anyone who opposes terrorism – in Norway.”
The controversy first emerged earlier this year when Hussein’s comments were reported by The Jerusalem Post.
At the time, NTNU distanced itself from the remarks, saying the event had taken place away from university premises and was not organised by the institution.
Vikas Thakur, dean of NTNU’s Faculty of Engineering, told the Jerusalem Post that while the university understood the remarks “may be perceived” as glorifying terrorism, Hussein had spoken “as an individual citizen with a background from Gaza, not on behalf of the university.”