No one can deny that there are anti-Semites within Palestine solidarity circles. There are haters within every community. But their hateful views do not define the movement.

“Extremists are to be found everywhere,” said Markos Pizarro of BDS Norway. “Harm done in the name of Islam is terrible — as are the killings of three young Muslims in North Carolina by an atheist, or the slaughters of Muslims in Asia by Buddhists.”

“Four or five of the eight organizers of the Ring of Peace initiative, helped organize, or participated in some way this last summer against the atrocities that took place in Gaza,” notes Pizarro. “So we now have the same people organizing in support of our Jewish community in Oslo. That for me is a very clear statement of solidarity — young concerned citizens trying to ease other people’s pains and suffering by trying to help out, despite their ethnicity or religious beliefs. We should applaud them.”

“Maybe when people see that the same people who have such strong opinions about Israel also support Norwegian Jews, then that will make an impact,” said Qeaam Ibn Malik, another of the event’s organizers. “More will understand that it is a system that we are fighting, not people of another faith.”

As it turns out, these young people are capable of opposing more than one injustice at the same time. They are the answer to those who say things like, “why don’t you protest Syria instead of singling out Israel?” (Actually, the too-short life of Kayla Mueller is the definitive answer to that accusation. Her legacy should forever shut the mouths of those flogging that tired line.)

– Read more: Oslo ‘Ring of Peace’ Organizers Slammed for Palestine Solidarity – Oslo ‘Ring of Peace’ Organizers Slammed for Palestine Solidarity.