Friends of Israel in the Parliament of Norway () is a pro-Israel

caucus A caucus is a group or meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to ...

group consisting of members of the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...

History

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, the group constituted a majority in the Parliament of Norway for the first time, with 86 members among the 150 parliamentary representatives. All political parties except for the Socialist Electoral League were represented. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

the group had 100 members, but this number declined following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982. In the

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, the group had 28 members from three political parties; 16 from the Progress Party (FrP), 10 from the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

(KrF) and 2 from the Conservative Party (H). One member, KrF's Jon Lilletun, died during the term. In comparison, the number of seats in parliament for each party was 38 from the Progress Party, 11 from the Christian Democratic Party and 23 from the Conservative Party. The group was chaired by Ingebrigt S. Sørfonn of the Christian Democratic Party. In late 2007, an initiative was taken to form an opposing parliamentary group, Friends of Palestine in the Parliament of Norway, in support of

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

. After the 2009 election, the groups supporting Israel and Palestine reconvened. Torbjørn Røe Isaksen (H) joined both groups. In late November 2009 the group had 26 members; 13 from the Progress Party (FrP), 10 from the

(KrF) and 3 from the Conservative Party (H). In comparison, the number of seats in parliament for each party was 41 from the Progress Party, 10 from the Christian Democratic Party and 30 from the Conservative Party. The members elected

Hans Olav Syversen Hans Olav Syversen (born 25 November 1966 in Skjervøy Municipality, Skjervøy) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian Democratic Party. He was first elected to the Storting, Norwegian Parliament from Osl ...

as leader from 2009 to 2011, and Jørund Rytman as leader from 2011 to 2013.

Present members (2013–2017)

As of June 2014, the Friends of Israel have a total of 37 members, 20 (of 29) from the Progress Party (FrP), 10 (of 10) from the Christian Democratic Party (KrF), 4 (of 48) from the Conservative Party (H), and 3 (of 55) from the Labour Party (Ap). Hans Fredrik Grøvan (KrF) chaired the caucus the first two years, and Jørund Rytman (FrP) the final two years. * Harald T. Nesvik ( FrP) *

Ingebjørg Godskesen Ingebjørg Amanda Godskesen (born 26 May 1957) is a Norwegian politician who represented the Progress Party until 2017. She was a member of the Storting from 2013 to 2017. Biography Godskesen was born in Kristiansand on 26 May 1957. She was e ...

(FrP) * Jan-Henrik Fredriksen (FrP) * Jørund Rytman (FrP) * Sivert Bjørnstad (FrP) * Kenneth Svendsen (FrP) *

Morten Ørsal Johansen Morten Ørsal Johansen (born 11 September 1964) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. Early life and career Johansen was born in Sunndal Municipality. His father was a photographer and his mother a pay secretary. He attended school ...

(FrP) *

Christian Tybring-Gjedde Christian Tybring-Gjedde (born 8 August 1963) is a Norwegian politician who represented the Progress Party until 2024. He has been a member of the Norwegian parliament since 2005, and was the leader of the Progress Party's Oslo chapter from 2010 ...

(FrP) *

Tor André Johnsen Tor André Johnsen (born 25 November 1968) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party (Norway), Progress Party. He has been a member of the Storting since 2013. Biography Johnsen was born on 25 November 1968. He hails from Ringsaker, and ...

(FrP) * Per Sandberg (FrP) *

Erlend Wiborg Erlend Wiborg (born 20 January 1984) is a Norwegian politician for the Progress Party. He served as deputy mayor of Moss from 2011 to 2013, when he was elected as an MP for Østfold. He has previously served as deputy MP from 2005 to 2013. In p ...

(FrP) * Oskar Grimstad (FrP) *

Bente Thorsen Bente Thorsen (born 31 October 1958 in Karmøy) is a Norwegian politician representing the Progress Party. She has been a member of the Storting since following the 2009 parliamentary election as Rogaland's 12th representative. She was a deputy ...

(FrP) * Kristian Norheim (FrP) * Ulf Leirstein (FrP) * Mazyar Keshvari (FrP) * Morten Wold (FrP) * Morten Stordalen (FrP) * Tom E. B. Holthe (FrP) * Helge Thorheim (FrP) *

Himanshu Gulati Himanshu Gulati (born 16 June 1988) is a Norwegian politician of Indian ancestry representing the Progress Party (Norway), Progress Party. Gulati was the chairperson of the Progress Party's Youth from 2012 to 2014. He served as State Secretary (No ...

(FrP) *

Kjell Ingolf Ropstad Kjell Ingolf Ropstad (born 1 June 1985) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party, who served as the Minister of Children, Family and Church Affairs and the leader of the Christian Democratic Party from 2019 to 2021. He has bee ...

( KrF) *

Olaug Bollestad Olaug Vervik Bollestad (born 4 November 1961) is a Norwegian nurse and politician for the Christian Democratic Party who is a member of Parliament for Rogaland since 2013. She served as the party leader between 2021 and 2024, having been deputy le ...

(KrF) *

Knut Arild Hareide Knut Arild Hareide (born 23 November 1972) is a Norwegian politician who served as a member of parliament from Hordaland and as the leader of the Christian Democratic Party from 2011 to 2019. He served as Minister of Transport and Communication ...

(KrF) * Hans Fredrik Grøvan (KrF) *

Rigmor Andersen Eide Rigmor Andersen Eide (born 26 June 1954) is a Norwegian politician for the Christian Democratic Party. She was elected to the Parliament of Norway from Møre og Romsdal in 2009. She became a member of the Standing Committee on Business and Indust ...

(KrF) *

(KrF) * Line Henriette Hjemdal (KrF) *

Geir Jørgen Bekkevold Geir Jørgen Bekkevold (born 19 November 1963) is a Norwegian priest and politician for the Christian Democratic Party. He was born in Horten as the son of laborer Jan Egil Bekkevold and housewife Evy Bekkevold. He finished his secondary educatio ...

(KrF) * Geir Toskedal (KrF) * Anders Tyvand (KrF) * Siri A. Meling ( H) * Ingjerd Schou (H) * Øyvind Halleraker (H) *

Frank Jenssen Frank Josef Jenssen (born 11 August 1969) is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party. He was elected to the Parliament of Norway for Sør-Trøndelag in 2013 and in 2018, he became the first County Governor of the new Trøndelag count ...

(H) *

Kari Henriksen Kari Henriksen (born 10 August 1955) is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. She has served as an MP for Vest-Agder (Storting constituency), Vest-Agder since 2009, and the fourth Vice President of the Storting since ...

( Ap) *

Sverre Myrli Sverre Myrli (born 26 August 1971 in Nes, Akershus, Nes) is a Norway, Norwegian politician for the Labour Party (Norway), Labour Party. Political career Jagland cabinet During the cabinet Jagland he was appointed political advisor in the Norwegia ...

(Ap) * Kåre Simensen (Ap) Two members, Kari Henriksen and Sverre Myrli (both Ap) were also members of Friends of Palestine."TV 2 stilte politikerne i «Israels venner» tre spørsmål om Gaza-angrepene"
''TV2'', 29 June 2014

References

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2020 Politics of Norway Storting Israel friendship associations Israel–Norway relations Norway friendship associations Jewish Norwegian history Zionism in Norway Zionist organizations