Friends of Israel in the Parliament of Norway

Reporting in 2013 described a Friends of Israel organization within the Storting as being led by Norway's Progress Party.[1] Progress Party MP Jorund Rytman said the organization was making intensive efforts to renew Norwegian arms exports to Israel, arguing: "I don't see any basic difference between exporting to the US and exporting to Israel."[1] The group also enjoyed the backing of Progress Party leader and Finance Minister Siv Jensen.[1]

The Norwegian Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus was launched at a ceremony held in the Storting in Oslo in April 2018, making Norway the 38th country reported to have established a pro-Israel parliamentary caucus of this kind.[2] MP Hans Fredrik Grovan was named as the caucus's incoming chairman.[2] The launch was attended by a delegation from the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, including MKs Anat Berko and Aliza Lavie, as well as Israel Allies Foundation president Josh Reinstein.[2] The Norwegian caucus was distinct from the Israeli-Norwegian Parliamentary Friendship Group, whose chairwoman at the time was Lavie.[2]

The Norwegian caucus operates as part of an international network coordinated by the Israel Allies Foundation, an organization described as educating and empowering pro-Israel, faith-based legislators around the world.[3] By March 2025, the Foundation coordinated 54 Israel Allies Caucuses globally, and the Norwegian caucus's relaunch was presented as part of this broader effort.[3]

At the 2018 founding ceremony, Reinstein described the event as being of "incredible significance in promoting faith-based diplomacy in Scandinavia."[2] Grovan said the visit by Knesset members was important for strengthening relations between Norway and Israel.[2] The launch coincided with the largest annual conference of With Israel for Peace (MIFF), which culminated in a celebration of Israel's 70th Independence Day at Oslo Concert House attended by approximately 1,400 Norwegian friends of Israel.[2] At that gathering, Lavie addressed antisemitism and boycott initiatives in Europe, while Berko spoke about radical Islamic terrorism and cooperation in defending Israel.[2]

The Norwegian Israel Allies Caucus was relaunched on March 3, 2025, following the Oslo Symposium, with more than half a dozen Norwegian parliamentarians participating.[3][4] Knesset member Shelly Tal Meron attended as a representative of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus.[3] By 2025, Himanshu Gulati—a member of the opposition Progress Party—had become chairman of the caucus, having previously served as deputy chair in December 2020.[5][4]

The 2025 relaunch was framed around countering antisemitic rhetoric, affirming Israel's right to self-defense, and working to repair what organizers described as severely strained Norway–Israel relations.[3] Reinstein stated: "The relationship between Israel and Norway is broken, and faith-based diplomacy is key to rebuilding it."[3] Gulati said the relaunch and associated events in Oslo reflected his party's continued support for Israel's right to defend itself.[4]

Members of the caucus and the earlier Friends of Israel organization have engaged on two significant policy questions: Norwegian financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority and Norwegian arms exports to Israel.

On Palestinian aid, the Progress Party spearheaded a successful parliamentary vote in December 2020 to reduce Norwegian financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian territories by approximately $3.4 million.[6] Supporters justified the reduction by citing reports of antisemitic content and incitement to violence in Palestinian Authority educational materials.[6] This followed a December 2019 Storting vote endorsing the withholding of funding and a June 2020 announcement by Foreign Affairs Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide that half of that year's funding for the Palestinian Authority's education system would be withheld pending textbook changes.[5] Gulati, serving as deputy chair of Friends of Israel in the Storting, declared: "Norwegian taxpayers will not pay the monthly salary to terrorists."[5] He also argued that Norwegian aid entered the same economy used to pay Palestinian prisoners' salaries and called for further reductions while such payments continued.[6]

On arms exports, the 2013 reporting described the organization as making intensive efforts to renew arms trading with Israel.[1] Rytman linked the resumption of defense exports to a broader improvement in Oslo–Jerusalem relations and called for amending Norway's weapons-export supervision law, which prohibited military-equipment sales to Israel—a ban first imposed in 2002.[1] The campaign took place amid disagreement within the governing coalition: the Progress Party favored lifting the ban, while the Conservative Party had not announced support for doing so. Foreign Minister Børge Brende said the government saw no immediate reason to change the existing arms-export policy toward Israel.[1]

The caucus's policy advocacy involves disputed assessments. Supporters of the 2020 aid cuts cited allegations of antisemitism and incitement in Palestinian Authority educational materials; the cited reports present those allegations as the rationale for the measure.[5][6] Descriptions of Norwegian media or government policy as pursuing an "anti-Israel agenda" likewise reflect the stated views of organizers and their allies.[2]

The campaign to resume arms exports exposed disagreement within Norway's coalition government in 2013, with the foreign minister declining to endorse an immediate policy change.[1] Reporting named Hans Fredrik Grovan as incoming chairman of the Israel Allies Caucus in 2018.[2] Himanshu Gulati was identified as deputy chair in 2020 and as chairman in 2025.[5][4] The available reports do not document the caucus's complete membership or constitutional structure and do not by themselves establish formal continuity among every reported iteration.