2 Goals and focus areas

Norway has had measures against antisemitism in place since 2015 and action plans against antisemitism since 2016, first with the Action plan against antisemitism 2016–2020, followed by the Action plan against antisemitism 2021–2023 – a continuation. The ongoing measures against antisemitism have been continued in 2024.

In this new Action plan against antisemitism, which will remain in effect until 2030, the Government will facilitate dialogue between different groups in society in an effort to ensure a well-functioning democracy with mutual respect between people, where everyone is able to participate on an equal footing. We will continue our efforts to develop knowledge and competence about racism, antisemitism, harassment and discrimination across various sectors of society. Everyone should feel safe and secure, regardless of their background, and everyone has the right to express themselves without facing hostility because of their ethnic origin or religion. As part of the follow-up of the Action plan, we will prioritise measures that contribute to improving safety for children and young people. Thereby, the Government will continue to strengthen and safeguard the values we hold dear in Norwegian society, such as trust, equality and democracy.

In addition, the Government is working on an Action plan to combat anti-Muslim racism, which is scheduled to be presented in December 2024, as well as an Action plan to combat harassment and discrimination of the Sami, which will be presented in early 2025.

Based on the above-mentioned goals, the Government has established three common focus areas for the action plans to combat antisemitism, anti-Muslim racism, and harassment and discrimination of the Sami:

1. Dialogue and a well-functioning democracy
2. Knowledge and competence
3. Safety and security

The measures in the Action plan against antisemitism are grouped according to these three focus areas in chapters 6, 7 and 8. In addition, chapter 9 describes efforts and measures outside of Norway. The measures will be implemented within the current budget frameworks of the applicable government ministries.

Evaluation of efforts to combat antisemitism

The overall efforts to combat antisemitism in the period 2016 – 2023 have been evaluated by Proba Research on behalf of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. The evaluation, published in April 2023, indicates that the measures to combat antisemitism largely correspond to the domestic challenges and are well-targeted. It also shows that representatives of the Jewish minority, relevant research environments and representatives of the authorities experience that the action plans are well-integrated and followed up. The evaluation largely recommends continuing current efforts but highlights a lack of concrete measures to combat antisemitism online. It also recommends further research into antisemitism on the internet. In addition, Proba Research recommends that more targeted measures aimed at defined environments in which antisemitic attitudes are more prevalent should be considered in the future.

This Action plan builds on measures and experiences from both of the two previous plans and the evaluation, and also includes some new measures. The current challenges related to antisemitism differ significantly from those present when the two previous plans were introduced.