Oslo, 18 March 2019

The late Kare Kristiansen was a leader of the Norwegian Christian People’s Party. In 1994, he resigned from the Nobel Committee to protest the Award granted to Yasser Arafat, whom he described as “the world’s most prominent terrorist.”

In 2011, the Oslo Symposium was founded by Christian Friends of Israel to honour Kristiansen’s memory.

The fifth biennial Kare Kristiansen Award was granted to the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, represented by its Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels.

Bjarte Ystebo, Chair of the Oslo Symposium, handing the Kare
Kristiansen Award to Shimon Samuels (photo: Marion Haslien).

The two-day conference was addressed by 55 speakers and attended by over 700 participants.

https://www.youtube.com/user/Kristenfolket/videos?disable_polymer=1
Click on “OS2019: Shimon Samuels” for his speech, or go directly to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcfYNEHDaDE

(photo: Marion Haslien)

Samuels focussed on the ID theft of both Jewish and Christian narrative, stressing the need of both faiths to work together on preserving a common heritage.

“We need active Christian Zionists, such as the followers of Kare Kristiansen, to stand together with Israel and face our mutual challenges together,” he emphasized.

US Congresswoman Michele Bachmann spoke of her Norwegian forebears and her love for Israel.

Samuels with Michele Bachmann, Bjarte Ystebo and Graciela Vaserman Samuels (photo: Marion Haslien).