Johan Galtung, Norwegian sociologist nicknamed the “father of peace studies,” made anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli remarks while lecturing at the University of Oslo, in an article published afterward in the Norwegian press and in an interview with Haaretz that followed.

Among other statements, Galtung claimed that a possible connection exists between the terrorist responsible for the massacre of children in Norway last summer, and the Mossad. “The Jews control U.S. media, and divert for the sake of Israel,” wrote Galtung in an article published in Norway.

Open gallery view Johan Galtung.

He pointed out that one of the factors behind the anti-Semitic sentiment that led to Auschwitz was the fact that Jews held influential positions in German society.

Galtung also recommended reading “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” – one of the most popular anti-Semitic texts in the world.

Professor Galtung, 82-years-old, is one of the founders of the discipline called “Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution,” as well as a founder of the international Peace Research Institute in Oslo. He is considered well-respected sociological researcher, has been awarded many prizes, and is the author of over a thousand articles and over a hundred books. Some of his work has also been translated into Hebrew.

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Galtung’s repeated anti-Semitic remarks were exposed by the website of the Norwegian periodical, “Humanist.” (http://humanist.no) Some of the comments were made during a lecture at the University of Oslo last summer, and others were written by Galtung in response to an article critical of him that was published in the periodical.

Among other claims, Galtung stated that there is a possible link between Anders Behring Breivik, responsible for massacring dozens of children in Norway last summer, and Jewish and Israeli factions. The connection is supposedly based on the fact that the murderer has ties to the “Freemasons” organization, “which has Jewish origins,” according to Galtung. The supposed connection to Israel is through the Mossad – which Galtung believes might have given Breivik his orders.

In the same breath, Galtung mentioned a conspiracy theory, linking last summer’s massacre in Norway with the attack on the King David Hotel, carried out by the Etzel in 1946 – both attacks took place on July 22. He finished with this astonishing claim: “It will be interesting to read the [Norwegian] police report on Israel, during the trial."

In an email exchange with Haaretz on Sunday, Galtung requested to clear up his claims. “When we know nothing about who is behind Breivik, including whether there is anybody at all, any hypothesis is legitimate; that is in the nature of research,” wrote Galtung.

“I consider the Mossad highly unlikely, but it is illegitimate to eliminate it as a hypothesis with no evidence,” continued Galtung.

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When asked what he meant concerning the police report on Israel, Galtung replied: “Exactly what I said. I’m assuming that they are open to any possibility, and not only investigating acts carried out by Breivik, but rather other conjectures as well.”

In the correspondence with Haaretz, Galtung mentioned what he calls the “ambiguity of everything human.” To explain, he raised examples from the Middle Ages and the modern period. According to Galtung, “The terrible programs,” carried out upon the Jews, had another “problematic” side as well. “The Jews played a role in demanding payment from indebted peasants,” wrote Galtung.

According to Galtung, “terrible Auschwitz,” had two sides as well. “[It was] not unproblematic that Jews had key niches in a society humiliated by defeat at Versailles,” wrote Galtung, referencing Germany following World War I. Galtung continued, “In no way, absolutely no way, does this justify the atrocities. But it created anti-Semitism that could have been predicted.”

Another claim, made by Galtung in a Norwegian periodical, is that Jews control the American media. “Six Jewish companies control 96% of the media,” wrote Galtung. He included the names of journalists, publishers, TV networks, and movie studios, that he claims are controlled by Jews. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch was also included on the list. “He’s not Jewish, but many of the people under him are,” wrote Galtung, in reference to Murdoch. “Many of them are fanatically pro-Israel,” he pointed out. Immediately following these claims, Galtung wrote that “seventy percent of the professors at the 20 most important American universities are Jewish.”

Galtung bases his doctrine on an article written by William Luther Pierce, founder of the “National Alliance,” a white supremacist organization. The same article inspired Timothy McVeigh to carry out the Oklahoma City bombings that killed 168 people in 1995.

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When asked by Haaretz to describe the effects of the “Jewish control” of the media, he answered that it could be a good thing, in terms of intellectual quality, but that it could also “limit the discourse about anything where Israel is involved."

As an example, he raised American media coverage of Iran. According to Galtung, “U.S. mainstream media only discusses Iran in terms of nuclear arms,” and does not discuss American involvement in internal Iranian affairs. Galtung wrote of “The trauma of 1953 – the CIA-MI6 strike against a legally elected prime minister.” Another example, according to Galtung, is “The Arab Spring, discussed only in terms of dictatorship-democracy, not also in terms of the role of U.S.-Israel behind those dictatorships."

Galtung also held an open forum discussion concerning the contents of the book “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” one of the most quoted anti-Semitic works around the world. “I wonder how many people with such strong opinions on the book have even read it,” he wrote. “It is impossible to do so today without thinking of Goldman Sachs,” he added. Goldman Sachs is an international investment Bank founded and run by Jews, attacked in the media from time to time as a “capitalist pig."

“The Protocols,” are a forgery, created by the Russian secret police during the days of the Czar, which supposedly illustrates the Jewish plot created at a secret conference called the “Elders of Zion” to take over the world. Galtung, however, has another opinion. “It is hard to believe that the Russian secret police was able to be so specific,” wrote Galtung. While corresponding with Haaretz, he was less decisive, writing “I don’t know exactly who wrote the protocols."

Gad Yair, a sociology professor at Hebrew University, was the first to expose Galtung’s anti-Semitic remarks in Israel. Yair wrote about Galtung in his blog. (http://coolcite.com).

“Professor Galtung was a valued and deserving member of any public or academic discussion, until now. If a trustworthy peace-broker was ever needed anywhere in the world, that was Norwegian professor Johan Galtung. This background gives meaning to the astonishment of Norwegian academia in the face of his comments. It is the same as the astonishment created by the murderer Breivikin." Norwegian academia is wondering, added Yair, how "this merchant of peace was basing his ideas on neo-Nazi publications, and including them in interviews, lectures and articles? Does he also, like Breivik, cry peace with a Nazi salute?"

Read this article in Hebrew.