A large number of Norwegian Jews feel forced to hide their Jewish identity, a new report by Norway’s Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies (HL-Center) has revealed.
The report is based on interviews with close to 100 Norwegian Jews between November 1, 2025, and May 1, 2026. It explores in-depth the isolation, loss of friendships, and identity concealment of the small community, and how this has worsened post-October 7.
The Hamas massacre is considered by many of the Jews interviewed to be a turning point in their life in Norway.
“It has been good to be Jewish in Norway until now,” one person said.
Another spoke of the lack of support from non-Jewish friends: “The news came about an enormous number of casualties – 300 or 400 people killed at the Nova festival. And I was like... ‘Oh, my God.’ It felt as if something inside me collapsed. I showed it to my friends, people who had no direct connection to it. And their reaction was kind of: ‘Yeah, yeah, Israel, right? That’s what happens over there.’ They didn’t immediately understand that all I wanted to do was go home and call my mother. It was a brutal experience.”
Many respondents said their close friends never contacted them after October 7.
Children reported exclusion in classrooms and playgrounds. One respondent described a teacher posting images online in which the Star of David was transformed into a swastika. The respondent’s daughter did not want the issue reported because she feared it could affect her grades.
‘If I were Palestinian, I would beat you up.’
A university student said, “I had just started a new degree. During orientation week, I told someone I was Jewish. The first thing he said was: ‘If I were Palestinian, I would beat you up.’ I was trying to build a connection and open up, and that’s what I got back.”
The hostility and isolation have forced many Norwegian Jews to hide their identity. This includes not wearing Star of David jewelry, avoiding speaking Hebrew in public, and not telling new acquaintances they are Jewish.
“I try not to talk with my children about Israel or Jewish identity in the street. If they start talking about it, I change the subject. I don’t speak Hebrew on the bus,” one person said.
Some said this constant battle led them to experience emotional and physical burnout, anxiety, and lack of sleep.
“I walked around like a zombie,” one person reported.
“For many months, I was angry all the time,” another said. “It was a state I had never experienced before. I’ve been angry plenty of times in my life, but never continuously. It was this feeling that... I was constantly provoked by the way everything connected to Jews and Israelis was being portrayed, always in such a negative light.”
One parent described immediately securing his home on October 7: “I brought my son home, told him what had happened, checked the house, locked everything, and found things we could use to defend ourselves.”
This sense of “Is it time to flee?” was present in many of the testimonies.
Nearly all participants in the study were descendants of Holocaust survivors, and some spoke of how the stories of their ancestors created a fear that history may be repeating itself.
“My grandmother was very open,” one such descendant said. “I’ve heard the story, of how she eventually fled to Sweden, 100 times. Throughout my childhood, we kept asking: ‘Why didn’t you leave earlier? Were you naive?’ In a way, we’re in that situation now, where we’re asking ourselves whether it’s safe to stay here or not. Isn’t that completely crazy? What do you think my grandmother would have said?”
The debate over whether to leave Norway appeared in many of the answers, too. While some said they were deeply entrenched in Norwegian life, others said they felt they could no longer live a safe Jewish life in Norway.
“I am very well established here, with a family, a home, and children in school. For my part, I would be surprised if something happened that made me leave Norway. But I suspect it is only a matter of time before the Jewish minority disappears. That is my fear. The fear is less now than it was a year ago. A year ago, I was convinced. Now, we’ll see,” one respondent answered.
Documentation of how Jews themselves experience the situation
“WE WERE already aware that antisemitism in Norway had intensified in the period following October 7, 2023. We now have documentation of how Jews themselves experience the situation. This is important knowledge for us,” said Local Government and Regional Development Minister Bjørnar Skjæran.
“It is serious that Jews in Norway experience insecurity and isolation. I am particularly concerned that Jewish schoolchildren are so exposed. We all have a responsibility to counter antisemitism. This is a societal responsibility, and this report shows that we must both continue and strengthen our efforts against antisemitism,” Skjæran added.
“The report is important because it describes something many Jews in Norway have been trying to explain for a long time,” Ester Nafstad, co-founder of Kos & Kaos (the Nordic Jewish network), told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
“It’s not only about direct threats or explicit antisemitism but also about how polarization and the public climate after October 7 affects everyday Jewish life, identity, and participation.”
For Nasftad, the most striking part of the report is that people increasingly feel the need to hide Jewish symbols, avoid talking about their background, or withdraw from public conversations.
She also told the Post that the report exposes a growing gap between newer research on contemporary antisemitism and the actual policies and structures in Norway.
“Much of Norwegian policy is still built around older models focused mainly on Holocaust education, security, and religious institutions,” she said, adding that while those things are still important, there is clearly a need for broader cultural, democratic, and dialogue-based approaches as well.
“That’s where I see a mismatch between how Norway speaks internationally about ‘living Jewish life,’ democratic participation, and modern antisemitism, and how the field is often understood domestically.
“Internationally, there is much more awareness now that antisemitism is connected to polarization, identity politics, digital narratives, and minority participation in public life,” she explained.
“I think Norway is still lagging somewhat behind that development,” Nasftad concluded.