Not really. They were venomous Holocaust jokes with some Jesus-killing references mixed in. But at the end he remembered to include some anti-Israel remarks. So – given that we’re talking about a country where “Israel should be wiped out” is part of mainstream public discourse – no worries:
A Norwegian comedian has caused a furore in Norway over the past few days, by making a string of jokes seen by many as anti-Semitic on his show… “I would like to take the opportunity to remember all the billions of fleas and lice that lost their lives in German gas chambers, without having done anything wrong other than settling on persons of Jewish background,” Otto Jespersen said. A week later Jespersen, in his weekly TV appearance, gave a “satiric” monologue of mixed anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli remarks. He concluded by wishing the Jews a merry Christmas. But then as an afterthought, he said this was not right because the Jews had killed Jesus. Jespersen’s employers defended his right to make the jokes.
I’ll spare you the “one wonders” rhetorical pedantry. No of course the station wouldn’t be defending him if he made anti-Muslim jokes. Even if his jokes were 1,000 times less offensive – he’d still be in hiding from the increasingly “challenging” Islamic radicals in Norway. And meanwhile Norwegian Muslim groups would be tsk tsk’ing over his “unhelpful” statements.
But gas chamber jokes? Comedy gold.
References:
* Norwegians not laughing over comic’s anti-Semitic jokes [Ha'aretz]
* It’s Amazing How Speaking and Thinking Like an Anti-Semite Makes You Into an Anti-Semite [MR]
* Norway terror threat rising: intelligence agency [Reuters]
Previously:
* Even 40 Years Ago, Anti-Zionism was Already Anti-Semitism
* Tragedy Fails to Stop European Hatred, Palestinian Attacks Against Israel
* Indonesia Illustrates Muslim Definition of Tolerance
