A Norwegian university professor called the October 7 Hamas attacks “the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century.”
Bassam Hussein, a project management professor at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, made the comments during an April 21 lecture organized by the Socialist Forum.
During his section about conflict in the Middle East, Hussein called October 7 “the most beautiful thing that has happened in our century,” adding that it revealed, “there is no such thing as Israeli superiority.”
“Israel sold Jewish immigrants an idea. A kind of five-star settler life there. They told Jewish immigrants: come to us. Here you will get the finest life. You will get a home, a house, an apartment, a car, a job financed by Americans. And the only thing you have to do is serve in the army for 18 months. And that’s it. Then you can go and live. You can also have citizenship and everything. This is paradise. October 7 proved that this is not true at all.
“October 7 showed that no matter how strong you are, you still have vulnerabilities. And an intelligent, smart Palestinian military leader with 400 people can actually hurt them badly. So Israel became like a kind of dragon, a huge dragon spitting fire in all directions, that got a needle in its backside. That’s it. A needle in the backside.”
He also stated his belief that Israel’s ambitions are greater than being a regional power and that the Jewish state wishes to “take over the Western empire.”
“Remember that the State of Israel is really a continuation of European colonialism, just like the United States, just like Canada, and just like Australia. It is the same mentality. And therefore, I fear that this is Israel’s plan: to take over as a regional – no, as a global power.”
'This Hamas supporter cannot continue teaching'
Eytan Halon, Chargé d’affaires at the Israeli embassy in Oslo, called it a “shocking glorification of terror.”
“This Hamas supporter cannot continue teaching Norway’s students [at] NTNU,” he said.
In 2016, Hussein was named one of Norway’s top 10 outstanding lecturers. He was also named an Excellent Teaching Practitioner at NTNU in 2023.
In 2025, the Board of the Student Society in Trondheim (Studentersamfundet i Trondheim) awarded Hussein their honorary membership in recognition of “his outspoken efforts to raise awareness and mobilize against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
According to a GoFundMe he opened in 2024, Hussein was born in Jabalya, Gaza. His family allegedly still resides there.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to NTNU for comment.