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'Proud to be a Dane in Israel' By Adi Schwartz Tags: Israel news, Denmark On September 1, Denmark's new ambassador to Israel, Liselotte Plesner, presented her credentials to President Shimon Peres. A few minutes before the ceremony, she had to go through an exhausting parade of hand-shaking members of the diplomatic community. But everyone addressed her husband, Nicolai, congratulating him as "the new ambassador." At first, she says, "It was amusing for both of us. People gave him their cards and said they were expecting fruitful cooperation. I think he even enjoyed it. Until at one point I said, wait a second, I am the ambassador." This is not the first time Plesner, 48, has encountered such a reaction, reflecting a discriminatory attitude against women in senior positions. In her previous post, as political director of the Danish Foreign Ministry, she would attend meetings accompanied by her much younger, male personal secretary. Still, in Brussels and other European capitals, too, people always thought he was the senior diplomat and she was his aide. Advertisement "We still have a long way to go," she says with a smile. "It's true that there is more equality for women in Denmark, but even that is a little bit of a myth. In the private sector it doesn't exist at all. In the public sector, there are a lot of women in the lower levels, but when you go higher, it's mostly men. There are a lot of women in the Danish parliament, 50 percent of young professionals in the foreign ministry are female. But higher up, it's mostly men." During the interview at her beautiful residence in Arsuf, which has a tiny private swimming pool and overlooks the sea, Plesner says she tries to draw encouragement from senior women in European politics, who assumed leadership positions in recent years in fields that until recently were considered to be male domains. Carme Chacon, for example, Spain's incumbent defense minister, is only 37 years old. Rachida Dati, 43, is France's justice minister. During her time at the Foreign Ministry in Copenhagen, Plesner herself worked closely together with the heads of the Danish army as well as representatives of NATO and other military organizations. "We spoke about Iran, Iraq and the Middle East peace process. And I never had any problem. My personal experience is very good. There wasn't a problem with my being a woman." In fact, she remembers "very good cooperation. A woman can definitely do this." Without going into Israeli politics, and without expressing support for any politician, Plesner says she was unpleasantly surprised by the question addressed to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni concerning that famous 3 A.M. phone call. "Would they ask if she were a man?" she wonders. "My impression of Livni is very good. She is not a 'female' politician who wants everybody to like her. She seems super professional." And this is the very model Plesner also adopts for herself: Neither masculine nor feminine, but professional. "Women should go forward, and not think about the male-female thing. A woman, like a man, should know how to work. I don't think women are better than men. In the end, you have to make the right decisions and lead. And this has nothing to do with the male-female thing." Potential for cooperation On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, Plesner, her husband and their son Marcus dined with relatives (her husband's cousin is Kadima MK Yohanan Plesner). She says the gefilte fish was the final touch to a perfect welcome in Israel, which has been "much more than I expected. Really a dream. I've been in Rome before, which is a beautiful city, but so heavy and slow. Here everyone is open and nice. Everywhere. It's really an open society, which is very important for a diplomat. I have discovered a fascinating place, very friendly and positive [in its attitude] toward Denmark." Though it is far away from Copenhagen, its climate is Mediterranean and its national temperament is more raucous, Israel, she believes, is actually rather similar to Denmark. She notes that both countries have relatively small populations and there are hardly any natural resources. The ambassador adds that she believes Denmark has quite a lot to learn from Israel about innovation, creativity and coming up with ingenious solutions to a great many problems. Relations between Israel and Denmark, she says, are very good, but it is always possible to improve them. During her term, for example, the envoy hopes to strengthen bilateral economic relations and increase cooperation in research and development. She notes that Denmark has a great deal of expertise in the field of industrial design, from hearing aids to kitchen accessories, and that there is further potential to cooperate on matters of energy and environmental quality. And in fact, Plesner interjects suddenly, taking her interlocutor completely by surprise, the national security situations of Israel and Denmark are also alike. "Denmark experienced a long period of peace since the end of the war. But things have changed dramatically, especially since the cartoons crisis," she explains, referring to the cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that appeared in a Danish newspaper in 2005, which spurred a huge uproar in the Muslim world. Danish embassies were torched and hundreds of people were killed around the world. "For years we didn't even think about national security. It was something for the Americans, or maybe NATO, but not for Denmark. The average Dane never thought about these things. But things changed. At first it was a shock to see a Danish flag burning. The Danes were very angry. They didn't understand what they did wrong. Freedom of expression is very important for Danes and the reaction of a lot of Muslims was very surprising. "But then we realized that we live in a different world. More global. Danish society, which for years was very homogenous, changed its face, following a wave of Turkish and Pakistani immigrants. After things calmed down a little, Danes started to be interested by the 'other.' But this is the first time we stopped thinking about national security as a given. "Of course, you can't compare that to what's happening in Israel. But Danes are asking themselves if a terror attack can occur in Denmark. After Madrid and London, you cannot rule that out. Maybe it makes the Danes understand better the problems of this region. Maybe Denmark can learn from Israel, which has to defend itself all the time." Saving the Jews During the entire conversation, a thin brochure lay on the coffee table in the ambassador's living room, containing the story of the rescue of Danish Jews during World War II. Plesner has already heard from more than one Israeli visitor that even today, more than 60 years later, the attitude of many Israelis toward European countries is determined to a large extent by those countries' attitudes toward the Jews during the time of the Nazi slaughter. In this respect, she knows she has something to be proud of: During the German occupation, Denmark's king refused to implement the race laws with respect to the country's Jews. In October 1943, the Danish underground smuggled about 7,000 Jews to neutral Sweden, thereby saving their lives. By virtue of that act, Denmark became the country that, percentage-wise, saved most members of its pre-war Jewish community. "When I studied in the 1970s," recalls Plesner, "we didn't learn too much about it. Everybody was more interested in the third world. I knew 7,000 Jews were saved, but - so what? When I started learning about the Holocaust, I began to understand how unique it was, especially if you look at what others did not do. The situation was different and the Jewish community was quite small, but it was not an act of individuals, but of the government, to protect the Jewish citizens. It's a good starting point for our relations. When I say I'm the Danish ambassador, I am greeted by a smile. The reception of our foreign minister was very positive. I am very proud to be a Dane in Israel." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Israel policy Obama camp dismisses Jesse Jackson's remarks on ridding the U.S. of 'Zionist control.' Welcome to AqsaTube The Palestinian militant group Hamas launches its own version of YouTube.   1.   the king of denmark 23:34  |  honey bunch 10/10/08   2.   Resistance 04:05  |  Birgit 11/10/08   3.   The King of Denmark 04:17  |  Gordon 11/10/08

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