In recent months, we have secured funding for two major new projects. One is a new and expanded attitude survey that will map Norwegians’ views of Jews, Muslims, and the Roma population.
-For the first time, the survey will also include a qualitative component with interviews, which marks a new approach compared to earlier attitude studies conducted by The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies, says Director Jan Heiret.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies has also recently been commissioned by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development to assess knowledge about Jewish life and antisemitism in Norway. The study will provide systematic insights into how Jewish life in Norway has changed after October 7, 2023, and outline relevant research needs and topics going forward.
Several Ongoing Projects
-These new projects come in addition to several ongoing initiatives, says Heiret.
One major project we are well underway with is Map and Terrain – Antisemitism in the Present, which consists of several sub-projects. The study October 7 and After – Experiences of Being Jewish in Norway is already in progress. In this project, we are interviewing 100 Jewish Norwegians of different ages from across the country to hear their experiences as Jews in Norway after October 7.
Another larger ongoing project is a discourse analysis of the participation of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish faith communities in the public debate on antisemitism after October 7, 2023.
Other Initiatives at The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies on Antisemitism:
- Annual education of around 14,000 pupils and students on antisemitism, the Holocaust, and everyday racism in Norway.
- The book The Long Lines of Antisemitism: Jew-Hatred in Norway’s Past and Present – a collection of articles edited by Vibeke Moe and Øyvind Kopperud (both researchers at the The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies), together with historian Kjetil Braut Simonsen, academic director of the Jewish Museum in Oslo. The book was published in spring 2025.
- New position starting autumn 2025: An additional allocation from the Board for a 3–4 year position dedicated to research on contemporary antisemitism (either a postdoctoral fellowship or a PhD scholarship).
Publications on Antisemitism and the Holocaust from 2023 – present:
Moe, Vibeke, Øyvind Kopperud, and Kjetil Braut Simonsen. 2025. “An Examination of Explanations of Antisemitism.” In The Long Lines of Antisemitism: Jew-Hatred in Norway’s Past and Present, edited by Vibeke Moe Bjørnbekk, Ø. Kopperud, and K. Braut Simonsen. Oslo: Scandinavian Academic Press.
Kopperud, Øyvind and Kjetil Braut Simonsen. 2025. “Norwegian Antisemitism: Research Status and Long-Term Perspectives.” In The Long Lines of Antisemitism: Jew-Hatred in Norway’s Past and Present, edited by Vibeke Moe Bjørnbekk, Ø. Kopperud, and K. Braut Simonsen. Oslo: Scandinavian Academic Press.
Moe, Vibeke, Øyvind Kopperud, and Kjetil Braut Simonsen. 2025. “[The Significance of a Paradigm Shift – Antisemitism as a Comparative Phenomenon].” In The Long Lines of Antisemitism: Jew-Hatred in Norway’s Past and Present, edited by Vibeke Moe Bjørnbekk, Ø. Kopperud, and K. Braut Simonsen. Oslo: Scandinavian Academic Press.
Moe, Vibeke. 2024. Attitudes toward Jews and Muslims in Norway 2024. Background Paper. Oslo: HL Center.
Moe, Vibeke. 2024. Narratives about Jews among Muslims in Norway: A Qualitative Interview Study. Berlin: De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111329321
Moe, Vibeke, and Claudia Lenz. 2024. “Holocaust Education in Multicultural Classrooms.” In Teaching about the Holocaust: Challenges and Approaches, edited by C. Lenz and V.F. Kalsås. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Bangstad, Sindre, and Cora Alexa Døving. 2023. What is Racism? (2nd edition). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Døving, Cora Alexa. 2023. “Jewish in a Multicultural Society: From a Particular to a Universal Minority Consciousness.” Jewish Culture and History 24, no. 3.
Hetland, Øystein, and William Hamre. 2023. “‘The Extermination of the Jews is No Empty Phrase, It Is the Shocking Reality of the New Europe’: Coverage of Jews and the Holocaust in Norsk Tidend.” Mediehistorisk Tidsskrift 39, no. 1: 107–123.