(JNS) Walking Oslo’s streets, anti-Israel graffiti and initiatives supporting Gazans are hard to miss, from cotton-candy carts to falafel shops donating proceeds to Gaza, with vendors sporting keffiyehs.
An estimated 1,500 Jews live in Norway, about 1,000 in Oslo and surrounding areas, with roughly 750 registered community members. Oslo has no Jewish primary or secondary school but maintains one synagogue, a kindergarten and a senior living facility, along with a kosher market open once a week. Shechita (ritual slaughter) has been illegal since the 1920s, though brit milah (circumcision) remains legal. Two bakeries offer inspected kosher bread and traditional Norwegian pastries, and a local bagel shop provides kosher bagels.
Founded in 1892, the community established an after-school program that has operated continuously since then, focusing on Hebrew, Jewish studies and Norwegian Jewish history.
Dorit Kohn, a community representative and coordinator of the after-school program, attended the Yael Foundation’s fourth annual summit on Jewish education in Vienna this past week. She and her husband, Michael, develop the program’s curriculum, navigating the challenges of serving a diverse community with varying levels of observance. Kohn also coordinates youth activities, including camps, seminars, shabbatonim and joint programs with Jewish communities in Sweden, Denmark and Finland.
While other communities have seen a sharp rise in engagement since Oct. 7, 2023, Kohn said Oslo has experienced a more modest increase.
“More people are interested in being active,” she said, adding that the upcoming first-grade after-school class is expected to be the largest in nearly a decade. “We work to keep it relevant, engaging and at the center of Jewish life, as it was originally intended.”
Experiences vary by neighborhood and school, Kohn said. “I am very lucky that my children attend a school with more Jewish students,” she said, noting they have encountered hostile graffiti on their daily commute but are accustomed to it.
In other schools, she added, Jewish children have faced antisemitism and anti-Israel bullying by pro-Palestinian groups.
While antisemitic incidents do occur, Kohn said they are not on the same scale as some other European countries. Her husband, who wears a kippah publicly, has been shouted at but has also received words of support from passersby.
She noted that street housing the synagogue has been closed to traffic and under 24/7 armed police protection since a 2006 shooting attack.
Kohn attributed Norway’s strong support for Gaza to a desire to stand with those perceived as the underdog, citing biased media coverage that shapes public opinion.
More than a decade ago, the Norwegian government launched a program to combat antisemitism in partnership with the Jewish community.
One component brings school groups to the synagogue for guided educational visits.
The second is the gap-year Shvilim leadership program combining studies at the University of Oslo with an immersive Israel experience in collaboration with the Upper Galilee Leadership Academy and international travel. The 10-month program brings together young adults from diverse backgrounds across Europe, Israel, North America and beyond.
Graduates can serve as “path finders,” traveling nationwide to speak in high schools about life as a Norwegian Jew.
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