The survey was conducted in January/February 2024, just a few months after the attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza. The purpose was to examine whether the population's attitudes towards Jews and Muslims had changed following the escalation in the Middle East.
Three Dimensions of Attitudes
As with previous surveys (2011, 2017, and 2022), three dimensions of attitudes were examined: social distance, emotions (sympathy, antipathy), and prejudices (support for various stereotypes). For each of these, indices were created where responses were analyzed as part of a larger pattern.
The results show an increase in all three dimensions of negative attitudes towards Jews compared to the survey from 2022:
- Prejudice index increased from 9.3 to 11.5 percent
- Social distance increased from 3.9 to 5.5 percent
- Antipathy index increased from 4.7 to 8.6 percent
- Composite index (covering all three) increased from 4.5 to 7.6 percent
-The results indicate a shift, says researcher Vibeke Moe, who led the survey work at the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies:
- While from 2011 to 2022 we measured a gradual decline in the prevalence of antisemitism, the trend has now reversed. However, Norway is still among the countries with a relatively low prevalence of traditional antisemitic attitudes, at a level comparable to other countries in Northwestern Europe, says Moe.
Norway is still among the countries with a relatively low prevalence of traditional antisemitic attitudes
Link Between Attitudes Towards Jews and Attitudes Towards Israel
The study also included questions that examined views on Israel and any potential link between attitudes towards Jews and attitudes towards Israel. The results indicate, among other things, that more people than before believe that their view of Jews is negatively influenced by the conflict (from 26 percent in 2022 to 33 percent in 2024).
Attitudes Towards Muslims Remain Unchanged
Regarding attitudes towards Muslims, the results are stable compared to the HL Center's attitude survey from 2022. Anti-Muslim sentiment is still far more widespread than negative attitudes towards Jews - 31 percent have pronounced prejudices against Muslims.
- The fact that the attitudes are unchanged since the previous survey suggests that anti-Muslim sentiment is less influenced by the situation in the Middle East. Still, when asked directly whether they feel their views on Muslims have become more negative as a result of Hamas’ attack, 35 percent answered affirmatively, says Moe.
The main findings are presented in the background paper 'Attitudes towards Jews and Muslims in Norway 2024'.