Few people have had the opportunity to become as familiar with Israel, the Palestinians and also Syria and Lebanon as Svein Sevje, Norway’s ambassador to Israel since 2010. It is difficult to find diplomats as professional as Sevje, who has accompanied the Oslo process for many long years on both sides of the fence, from Gaza to Tel Aviv. Sevje has also closely observed Syrian and Lebanese societies from both sides of Israel’s northern border.
The tall Nordic diplomat’s familiarity with the region dates from as far back as the Israeli occupation that began in the Six-Day War. A few months after the 1967 war, the (non-Jewish) student volunteered to work in Kibbutz Mishmar HaEmek in the Jezreel Valley. After three years, he returned there to join a Hebrew language school. In 1994, Sevje returned to Israel as deputy ambassador in Tel Aviv and was sent to establish a Norwegian representation in Gaza.
