Norwegians converted from paganism to Christianity in the course of nearly 100 years, largely as a result of coercive measures. In the year 1000, all non-Christians were banned from Norway in an effort to institutionalize Christianity as the national religion. The ban was presumably targeted at pagan adherents, it also put Norway out of bounds for Jews for over 800 years.

Although there likely were Jewish merchants, sailors and others who entered Norway during the next several centuries, no effort was made to reestablish a Jewish community. Ruled by a series of Norwegian, Swedish and Danish kings, in combination with either Denmark or Sweden, public policy against non-Christians was, in large part, dictated by royal edict.

The first known mention of Jews in public documents relates to the admissibility of so-called “Portuguese Jews” (Sephardim) that had been expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492 and 1497. Some of these were given special dispensation to enter Norway. Christian IV of Denmark-Norway gave Sephardic Jews limited rights to travel within the kingdom, and in 1641, Ashkenazi Jews were given equivalent rights.

Christian V rescinded these privileges in 1687, specifically banning Jews from Norway, unless they were given a special dispensation. Jews found in the kingdom were jailed and expelled. This ban persisted for 150 years.

In 1814, Norway signed its first constitution that included in its second paragraph a general ban against Jews and Jesuits entering the country. In principle, Portuguese Jews were exempt from this ban, but it appears that few applied for a letter of free passage. When Norway entered into the personal union of Sweden-Norway, the ban against Jews was upheld, though Sweden at that point had several Jewish communities.

In 1844, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice declared: "...it is assumed that the so-called Portuguese Jews are, regardless of the constitution, entitled to dwell in this country, which is also, to [our] knowledge, what has hitherto been assumed."
After tireless efforts by the poet Henrik Wergeland, the Norwegian Parliament lifted the ban against Jews in 1851 and they were awarded religious rights on par with Christian “dissenters.”

In 1852, the first Jew landed in Norway to settle, but it wasn't until 1892 that there were enough Jews to justify forming the current synagogue in Oslo.

The Jewish community grew slowly until World War II and peaked at about 1,800 members. During the Nazi occupation of Norway, nearly all Jews were either deported to death camps or fled to Sweden and beyond. The Jews fleeing to Sweden were most often given help by non-Jewish Norwegians, although a number of the border guides only agreed to assist after receiving high payments from the refugees. One of the biggest stains on Norwegian WWII history is how the civilian Norwegian police (politiet) in many cases helped the German occupiers in the apprehension of those amongst the Jews who failed to escape in time.

Records show that during the Holocaust, 758 Norwegian Jews were murdered by the Nazis (mostly in Auschwitz), and many of the refugees did not return to Norway. Many Jews who had escaped from Norway during the war did not return, and in 1946 there were 559 Jews in Norway.

Today
About 1,500 Jews currently live in Norway, of which the largest portion live in Oslo. There is a small community and synagogue in Trondheim. This synagogue once held the distinction of being the world’s northernmost synagogue, until one was built in Alaska, trumping Trondheim by a few degrees. Norwegian Jews have made a political impact as several former members of Parliament, including former speaker Jo Benkow.

Anti-Semitism in Norway
Religious and ethnic tolerance is a strongly held value in Norwegian public life, though it may be safe to assume that residual anti-Semitism has persevered in private circles. Despite existing anti-Semitism associated with Nazism, the mainstream Norwegian political environment has strongly adopted a platform that rejects it. However, widespread hostility to Israel for its policy towards Palestinians has recently led to a blurring of the lines between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism.

There have been several episodes of desecration of the synagogue in Oslo, and in July of 2006 the congregation issued an advisory warning Jews not to wear kippot or other identifying items in public for fear of harassment or assault. In August of 2006, the issue of new anti-Semitism made a brief but intense appearance in the public eye when Jostein Gaarder published an op-ed in Aftenposten that stirred controversy over its content and literary form. On September 17th, 2006 the synagogue in Oslo was subjected to attack with an automatic weapon, only days after it was made public that the building had been one of the planned targets for the Algerian terror group GSPC that had been plotting a bombing campaign in the Norwegian capital. The synagogue in Oslo is under continuous surveillance and protected by barriers.