Norwegian authorities have dismissed a criminal complaint against a university professor who called Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel “the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century,” concluding that the remark did not meet the threshold for prosecution — a decision that has drawn outrage from Israeli officials and pro-Israel activists in Norway.

Bassam Hussein, a Palestinian-born project management professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in the central city of Trondheim, made the remark on April 21 during a lecture at an event organized by the Socialist Forum. In the same address, he likened Israel to “a dragon” that had been pricked by “a needle in its backside” and described the country as a continuation of European colonialism. Video of the speech circulated widely online, prompting condemnation from Israeli officials.

Eytan Halon, Israel’s acting ambassador to Norway, denounced the comments as “a shocking glorification of terror.” In a post on X on May 2, he wrote, “This Hamas supporter cannot continue teaching Norway’s students.”

This week, local police closed the case, determining that Hussein’s reported conduct “is not punishable” under Norwegian law. The ruling remains subject to appeal, with complainants given three weeks to challenge it before a higher prosecuting authority.

Hussein has since sought to recontextualize the remark. He told the Norwegian newspaper Adresseavisen that he does not regard Oct. 7 as a victory or triumph, calling the loss of civilian life “deeply tragic, without any semblance of beauty” and saying it “should never be romanticized.” He argued that “excessive attention” had been paid to his use of “an adjective.” NTNU declined to discipline him, with university leaders and Norway’s higher education minister citing the strong protections for freedom of expression under Norwegian law; the university noted that the event took place off campus and that Hussein spoke as a private citizen, not on its behalf, while stressing that its board had condemned the Oct. 7 attack.

The pro-Israel activist group StoppNRK, which filed the complaint, said it would appeal the “outrageous” decision, arguing that Hussein’s remarks amounted to incitement and the glorification of terrorism. “It is unbelievable that the police closed the case,” said On Elpeleg, who heads the group. “It is no longer safe to be Jewish in Norway. Hamas is not only considered a legal organization here, but professors are also allowed to glorify and praise it.”

The dismissal adds to a record of controversy involving Hussein, who has led pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus, set up a protest encampment outside the university demanding that it cut academic and industrial ties with Israel, and, in January 2025, led chants at a tribute to slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The case comes amid a documented rise in antisemitism in Norway since Oct. 7. A report released in late May by the Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities — commissioned by the government as part of its 2025–2030 action plan against antisemitism — found that many of the country’s Jews are concealing their identity and withdrawing from public life, with children among the most affected. Norway’s Jewish community, one of the country’s five officially recognized national minorities, numbers only around 1,500 people, concentrated mainly in Oslo.