by Mathilda Heller
Acknowledging the long-standing connection between Norway and its Jewish population, an amendment has been proposed.
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In response to an article in The Jerusalem Post last week, the Norwegian government has admitted that its 2022 government regulation that changed the national minority status of many of its Jews was “problematic” and should be “formulated so that Jewish refugees who came to Norway after World War II, up until the late 1960s, and who have since become integrated into the Jewish minority, are included.”
This was stated in an official response by Local Government and Regional Development Minister Kjersti Stenseng, in which she specifically cited the Post’s article.
While Norway ratified the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in 1999, bestowing national minority status on Jews, Kvens (Norwegian Finns), Roma, Forest Finns, and Romani/Tartars, the government covertly added a new regulation to the small print of the convention on June 21, 2022 stating that “Persons who have moved to Norway after 1950, or their descendants, are not considered to belong to or constitute a national minority.”
This impacted the ability of Jewish groups in the country to obtain funding, with Jewish leaders telling the Post: “They are pulling the rug out from under our feet.”
In her response to the Post’s article, Stenseng said that the 2022 wording was designed to clarify the 2017 regulation, which stated: ‘Persons who have moved to Norway in recent times, and their descendants, are generally not considered to belong to a national minority.’
She however acknowledged that “the specific year has turned out to be problematic” as it excludes a significant amount of the Jewish population and their descendants who were expelled from Norway during WWII and did not return until the late 1960s.
Stenseng indicated that national minority status should apply to these individuals, as well as Jews who moved to Norway and became integrated into a national minority, for example through family formation.
However, she maintained that national minority status should be for those with “a long connection to Norway” and does not generally include persons who have moved to Norway in more recent times.
The ministry subsequently sent out a proposal for an amended regulation on Monday, stating that any adjustments will be adopted for 2026.
The suggested amendment – viewed by the Post – acknowledges that the Jewish minority has “a long-standing connection to Norway” and that the regulation will now include “descendants of an ethnic minority that has been present in Norway since the beginning of the 1900s.”
The cut-off year for later arrivals will be removed and will instead be replaced by “individuals who move to Norway and become integrated into the original national minority, for example, through family formation.”
“The wording thus includes Jews and Roma who returned to Norway or came here as refugees in the decades after World War II, and their descendants. At the same time, we wish to make it clearer that persons who have moved to Norway in recent times are, as a general rule, not to be considered as belonging to a national minority. “
Obstacles for Jewish organizations
The regulation change had been impacting Jewish organizations, which discovered they were no longer eligible for funding.The Nordic Jewish organization Kos & Kaos applied for 2,000,000 kroner ($199,060) in operating grants from the funding scheme for national minority organizations in November 2024. The money was needed to finance two positions: administrative coordinator and project manager, Ester Nafstad of Kos & Kaos told the Post in Oslo. The organization said it had been run by voluntary efforts until then and needed these positions to achieve its goals.
The Directorate for Cultural Heritage rejected the application on January 24, 2025.
Kos & Kaos appealed the decision on February 6, emphasizing its uniqueness as the only Jewish organization outside a religious context and saying that it welcomes Jews of all backgrounds. The Local Government and Regional Development Ministry (KDD) upheld the rejection, citing the 1950 Criterion.
“This was the first we learned of the criteria change,” Hafstad said.
In response, Kos & Kaos said the criterion raised serious questions under international law, administrative law, and on principled grounds.
Mathilda Heller
Source: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/article-866792
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