Background
Since October 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents have increased in Europe, including in Norway. In a survey directed at Norwegian Jews, NRK found that 69 percent have experienced uncomfortable situations related to their Jewish identity. The Mosaic Religious Community has repeatedly reported increased harassment and threats against its members, and more Jewish parents are coming forward with stories about their children's vulnerability at school. The Oslo Police District has seen an increase in reported hate crimes against Jews, and displaying one's Jewish identity has become associated with fear for many. Meanwhile, The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies' sentiment survey showed an increase in the prevalence of prejudices against Jews in the Norwegian population. This is the backdrop for the comprehensive interview study initiated by The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies.
What are we investigating?
How does the population with a Jewish identity experience everyday life, what is being read on social media, and what is it like to be a parent to Jewish schoolchildren? How do antisemitic expressions appear today, and what is perceived as antisemitism? And the relationship with the larger society; has it changed?
We seek knowledge about life as Jewish from a long-term perspective, but with emphasis on the present. How do experiences today compare with the informant's childhood and previous adult life?
Through interviews, we inquire about personal experiences and interpretations of belonging as a minority, about relationships that are either strengthened or weakened, and about perceptions of Norwegian public discourse. We want to hear about experiences and feelings, but also opinions and interpretations.
Summarized, the objectives are:
- To map and analyze experiences of belonging to the larger society
- To establish new knowledge about antisemitism, encountering prejudices, and having a Jewish identity in contemporary times
- To build an archive of Jewish voices for the future
Why interviews?
An experience-based project forms data from an inside perspective where daily life experiences will provide insights into variations in experiences as Jewish in Norway. While sentiment surveys can indicate the prevalence of prejudices, experience studies can reveal the prevalence of antisemitic incidents or situations where prejudices play a role. Studies of racism in Norway have shown that, although a very small percentage of the Norwegian population adheres to openly racist attitudes, experiences with racism are part of everyday life for many with visible minority backgrounds. Similarly, sentiment surveys on antisemitism do not necessarily reflect the extent of experiences with anti-Jewish words and actions.
Antisemitism is a complex phenomenon with deep historical roots. It is also a flexible phenomenon where forms of expression and causal relationships vary. The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies seeks to understand antisemitism and the conditions for Jews and Jewish life through various perspectives and through empirical data from different societal levels: attitudes in the population, expressions in the street scene and media, in historical cultural expressions, and through experiential narratives.
We know a lot about antisemitic manifestations during the interwar period and the decades after World War II, but relatively little has been done to uncover forms of expression at various levels of society. Through The Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies' minority surveys, we know something about the prevalence of negative experiences among Jews in Norway today. By supplementing this with in-depth interviews, we will gain complementary and deeper insights. We also need more knowledge about the consequences of negative experiences related to having a Jewish identity.
The broad data collection that this project will provide is necessary to establish some new perspectives on what antisemitism is in contemporary times and how the phenomenon is related to context.
In today's current context, we need new approaches to talk about and understand antisemitism. Therefore, one of the purposes of this project is to broaden our understanding of how antisemitism appears in practice, in different places, directed at different age groups, and as part of political messaging.