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Hussein characterized October 7 as a consequence of what he called “colonialism.”
By Shula Rosen
A professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim described the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel as “the most beautiful thing that happened this century” during a lecture, prompting condemnation from an Israeli diplomat.
Bassem Hussein, an engineering professor of Palestinian origin with family in Gaza, made the remarks during an April 21 lecture organized by the Socialist Forum.
He characterized the attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis and resulted in hundreds of captives, as a consequence of what he called “colonialism.”
During the lecture, Hussein also said Jews were being encouraged to settle in Israel to receive “a kind of five-star settler life there.”
“October 7 showed that no matter how strong you are, you still have vulnerabilities. And an intelligent, smart Palestinian military leader with 400 people can actually hurt them badly. So Israel became like a kind of dragon, a huge dragon spitting fire in all directions, that got a needle in its backside. That’s it. A needle in the backside,” he said.
He added, “Remember that the State of Israel is really a continuation of European colonialism,” and claimed that Israel’s goal is to “take over the Western empire.”
Eytan Halon, chargé d’affaires at the Israeli Embassy in Oslo, criticized the remarks, calling them a “shocking glorification of terror.”
“This Hamas supporter cannot continue teaching Norway’s students [at] NTNU,” Halon said.
Hussein was previously recognized in Norway’s academic community, having been named one of the country’s top 10 outstanding lecturers in 2016 and an Excellent Teaching Practitioner at NTNU in 2023.
The incident comes amid tensions involving Norway’s stance on Israel since Oct. 7.
Norway, along with Ireland and Spain, has taken positions described as critical of Israel, including an appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the Israeli government’s decision to end UNRWA’s operations in Israel.
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