The Norwegian Jewish group Det Mosaiske Trossamfund (DMT) has asked police in Oslo to start registering anti-Semitic incidents. Members claim they’ve been subjected to 11 incidents of harassment, vandalism and threats just in the past month.
“If we don’t get an overview of these incidents, we’re in poor shape to combat the virus that anti-semitism represents,” DMT leader Ervin Kohn told newspaper Vårt Land.
Police currently have no such overview, but DMT has been keeping track of anti-Semitic incidents on its own. Members of the organization have received threatening letters, been harassed during a funeral service and been subjected to Nazi-salutes by unidentified men.
A Jewish taxi driver reported being harassed and threatened while on duty at Oslo’s main airport at Gardermoen, and someone also has thrown rocks and bottles at the synagogue in Oslo.
The police have claimed there haven’t been enough incidents to warrant systematic registration, but Kari Helene Partapuoli, leader of Oslo’s anti-racism center, disagrees.
“With a Jewish minority of around 1,000 persons in Norway, the numbers will always be small,” she said. “Many also don’t believe anti-Semitism exists in Norway, which also makes it difficult to deal with the problem.”
Views and News staff
