Mads Gilbert

Mads Gilbert
Mads Gilbert
	Mads Gilbert in 2009
Born	Porsgrunn
Education	doctorate
Alma mater	University of Oslo ;
Employer	University Hospital of North Norway (1976–) ;
Awards	Commander of the Order of St. Olav‎ (2013); Erik Bye's Memorial Prize (2009); Fritt Ords honnør (2009) ;

Mads Fredrik Gilbert (born 2 June 1947) is a Norwegian physician, humanitarian, activist, and politician for the Red Party.^[1]^[2]^[3] He is a specialist in anesthesiology and head of the emergency medicine department at the University Hospital of North Norway and Professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromsø.

Gilbert has a broad range of experience from international humanitarian work, especially in locations where medical and political issues merge. Since the 1970s, he has been actively involved with solidarity work concerning Palestinians, and he has served as a doctor for several periods in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon for NORWAC. His efforts have been central to leading the city of Tromsø, since 2001 a twin town of Gaza, to claim to be the city that has sent more health workers to the Palestinian territories than any other in the world.^[4] His book on the Gaza War, Eyes on Gaza (2009), has been translated into several languages. Gilbert has been lauded as a "hero" in Norwegian media for his work in Gaza;^[5] his humanitarian work has been hailed by Prime Ministers Kåre Willoch, Jens Stoltenberg and Erna Solberg, and Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.^[6] On 6 May 2013, King Harald V appointed Gilbert as a Commander of the Order of St. Olav for his "wide-ranging services to emergency medicine."^[7] He has also done volunteer work at a kibbutz.^[8]

Gilbert has been the subject of controversy for his political activism.^[9]^[10]^[11] In November 2014, it was announced that Israel had indefinitely banned Gilbert from entering Gaza, officially for security reasons.^[12] The decision sparked outrage and the Norwegian government subsequently requested that the decision be reversed.^[13]^[14] The Israeli Foreign Ministry later clarified that the ban regarded setting foot in Israel, not Gaza. Israel, Haaretz wrote, is the only available transit point for entering the Gaza Strip when the Rafah border from Egypt is closed.^[15]

^ Fosland, Arne. "Fem drept under bombing av sykehus i Gaza". Nrk.no. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
^ Gulseth, Hege Guldal (6 January 2009). "Mads (61) er stemmen fra Gaza". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian).
^ Deep Journal, (30 January 2009). Unconventional weapons used in Gaza, says Norwegian surgeon based in Gaza
^ Tromsø Kommune (1 June 2001). Ordføreren til Gaza Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)
^ AS, TV 2 (6 January 2009). "De norske stemmene fra Gaza". TV 2.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Tekstarkiv - Dagbladet.no". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
^ St. Olavs Orden til Mads Gilbert, 6 May 2013, Aftenposten, (in Norwegian)
^ Arbetaren Zenit, Nr 21/2009, page 9
^ "Gaza doc named Norway's person of year". The Local/AFP. 19 December 2014. Gilbert's is a controversial figure in Norway, where he is considered to be on the far-left fringe of politics. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 he said he supported terror attacks against the US, saying western foreign policy justified them.
^ "This is what hell must look like". The Guardian. 26 January 2009. The pair are high-profile pro-Palestinian campaigners and Gilbert, a far-left politician in Norway, is a particularly controversial figure
^ "Gilbert utestengt fra Gaza på livstid". VG (in Norwegian). 14 November 2014. Som mangeårig aktivist i Palestinakomiteen, medlem av partiet Rødt og frittalende uttalelser, er han også kontroversiell
^ "Gilbert utestengt fra Gaza på livstid", VG, 14 November 2014, (in Norwegian)
^ Cite error: The named reference VG1411 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Mads Gilberts sykehusdirektør har sendt helseministeren brev med bønn om Israel-hjelp, 14. november 2014, Dagbladet, (in Norwegian)
^ 'Norwegian doctor banned from Israel, not Gaza, Foreign Ministry says,' Haaretz 17 November 2014.

[1] Fosland, Arne. "Fem drept under bombing av sykehus i Gaza". Nrk.no. Retrieved 27 July 2014.

[db-gilb-2] Gulseth, Hege Guldal (6 January 2009). "Mads (61) er stemmen fra Gaza". Dagbladet.no (in Norwegian).

[3] Deep Journal, (30 January 2009). Unconventional weapons used in Gaza, says Norwegian surgeon based in Gaza

[4] Tromsø Kommune (1 June 2001). Ordføreren til Gaza Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in Norwegian)

[5] AS, TV 2 (6 January 2009). "De norske stemmene fra Gaza". TV 2.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[6] "Tekstarkiv - Dagbladet.no". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.

[7] St. Olavs Orden til Mads Gilbert, 6 May 2013, Aftenposten, (in Norwegian)

[8] Arbetaren Zenit, Nr 21/2009, page 9

[9] "Gaza doc named Norway's person of year". The Local/AFP. 19 December 2014. Gilbert's is a controversial figure in Norway, where he is considered to be on the far-left fringe of politics. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 he said he supported terror attacks against the US, saying western foreign policy justified them.

[10] "This is what hell must look like". The Guardian. 26 January 2009. The pair are high-profile pro-Palestinian campaigners and Gilbert, a far-left politician in Norway, is a particularly controversial figure

[11] "Gilbert utestengt fra Gaza på livstid". VG (in Norwegian). 14 November 2014. Som mangeårig aktivist i Palestinakomiteen, medlem av partiet Rødt og frittalende uttalelser, er han også kontroversiell

[12] "Gilbert utestengt fra Gaza på livstid", VG, 14 November 2014, (in Norwegian)

[VG1411-13] Cite error: The named reference VG1411 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[14] Mads Gilberts sykehusdirektør har sendt helseministeren brev med bønn om Israel-hjelp, 14. november 2014, Dagbladet, (in Norwegian)

[haaretz.com-15] 'Norwegian doctor banned from Israel, not Gaza, Foreign Ministry says,' Haaretz 17 November 2014.

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