Jews in Norway

The Jewish community in Norway is one of the country's smallest religious minorities. The largest synagogue is in Oslo, and a smaller synagogue in Trondheim is reported to be the world's northernmost shul.

History

In the year 1000, all non-Christians were banned from Norway. Although the ban was presumably targeted at adherents of Norway's pagan religions, it effectively put Norway off limits for Jews for over 800 years.

In 1687, Jews were specifically banned from entering Norway by edict from king Christian V, unless they were given a special dispensation. Jews found in the kingdom were jailed and expelled.

In 1814, Norway signed its first constitution that included in its second paragraph a general ban against Jews entering the country.

After tireless efforts by the poet Henrik Wergeland, the Norwegian parliament lifted the ban against Jews in 1851 and were awarded religious rights on par with Christian "dissenters."

In 1852, the first Jew landed in Norway to settle, but it wasn't until 1892 there were enough to form a synagogue in Oslo. The Jewish community grew slowly until World War II and peaked at about 1800. During the Nazi occupation of Norway, nearly all Jews were either deported to death camps or fled to Sweden and beyond. Records show 758 Norwegian Jews were murdered by the Nazis—mostly in Auschwitz, and many of the refugees didn't return to Norway. In 1946, there were 559 Jews in Norway.

Today

There are about 1500 Jews in Norway today, of which the largest portion live in Oslo. There is a small community and synagogue in Trondheim, and others living around the country.

Norwegian Jews are well integrated into Norwegian society. A former president of parliament, Jo Benkow is Jewish, as are other prominent Norwegians.

In 1997, the Norwegian government commissioned a study on the disposition of Jewish assets that had been stolen by the Nazis and expropriated by the post-War Norwegian government. The commission was split in its findings, with the minority view holding that the value of the assets should be measured using commonly accepted financial principles. The government sided with the minority view. The award is being split between three purposes: the formation of a national museum for tolerance; funds to sustain the Jewish community in Norway; and compensation to individuals and their survivors.

Antisemitism in Norway

Religious and ethnic tolerance is a strongly held value in Norwegian public life, though it may be safe to assume that residual antisemitism has persevered in private circles. To the extent that antisemitism can be associated with Nazism, the mainstream Norwegian political environment has strongly adopted a platform that rejects antisemitism.

On the other hand, widespread hostility to Israel has, in the last few years, led to a blurring of the lines between anti-Zionism and antisemitism. There have been several reports of violence and threats of violence directed at those who are openly Jewish or profess support for Jews. Mainstream organizations that are critical to Israel reject the accusation that anti-Zionism and antisemitism are related, and the issue remains unexamined in the public debate.

External links

• The Jewish community in Oslo (http://www.dmt.oslo.no/index.html)
• The Jewish community in Trondheim (http://www.dmt.trondheim.no/indexn.html)
• Hatzfon - Scandinavian portal and resource page for Judaism (http://utne.nvg.org/j/)