On Saturday, I attended a costume party in Oslo in honor of Theodor Herzl, organized by Kos & Kaos, the Nordic Jewish Network. The event featured guest speakers, including Haviv Rettig Gur, who spoke about Zionism and the history of the Jewish people.
Only the next day, following a wonderful evening of drinks and discussion, did I learn of a narrowly intercepted security incident that night.
A man, wearing a large backpack, had approached the Jewish security team outside the event and showed them his registration. He hadn't paid, however, so the team asked him some questions. The man said his name was Aron Isaksen, and he was a settler from the West Bank. The security team quizzed him and found he did not speak Hebrew, and on further questioning, he revealed he was a Palestinian from Jenin.
The team handed him over to the police and subsequently filed a report.
I was in Oslo to report on the situation of the Jewish community (there are around 1500 Jews in Norway) and their experiences of antisemitism. I was aware ahead of time that there would be pro-Palestine protests at two of the events I would be attending, as well as throughout the city in general.
In a brief chat ahead of my trip, I asked the Israeli embassy if I would be safe wearing my Magen David around the city. "As long as you don't have a black hat and a beard, you'll be fine," I was told, which didn't exactly fill me with confidence.
The International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN) advertised ahead of time that it would be protesting the Herzl event. It lamented that "Guests are invited to sip on "Herzl-inspired drinks" and "nibble on fin de siècle finger food" as Israel's gruesome campaign of mass starvation threatens and claims the lives of millions of Palestinians in Gaza."
IJAN announced it would "chant, hear speeches and honor the martyrs of Palestine" and bang pots and pans outside the event.
As I approached the venue - a stunning yellow 19th-century building named Schafteløkken, in the Frogner region of Oslo - I immediately noticed a number of Norwegian police lining the streets from both directions, as well as police drones circling above.
The protesters could be heard from several streets away, shouting hateful slogans from a loudspeaker. The main protest organizer - an anti-Zionist Jewish activist named Rachel Shapiro - was yelling that the participants of the event were not real Jews, that she was the real Jew, and saying that when she looked into the participants' faces, she "sees Nazis, sees the people who gassed my great-grandparents."
The organizers of the event told me that some demonstrators had attempted to sneak in through the back of the building.
They were making so much noise that several local residents had their heads stuck out the window to watch, and other residents came over to complain about the disruption.
The protesters had been blockaded by the police about 20 meters from the event's entrance, where they had set up camp. I arrived about an hour late to the event, by which time there were around five to seven people left, but at the start of the event, there were around 20.
I was encouraged to avoid speaking to the protesters to prevent escalation of the situation and to maintain a safe distance. A Jewish security group checked our tickets and asked questions, and then waved us through.
Inside the event, the activists' yells and screams were soon drowned out by lively klezmer music, chatter, and laughter, and the evening was a roaring success. The attendees came from diverse backgrounds: I spoke to Orthodox Israeli Jews, Reform American Jews, non-practicing Norwegian Jews, non-Jews who love the community, and converts to Judaism. The overall feeling was of being embraced, no matter the background.
Learning of the attempted infiltration the next day put into perspective what Norway's Jews face on a daily basis. During my visit, I heard countless stories of Jews being spat on, ostracized, called baby killers, and so forth.
Threats towards Norway's Jewish community
The day after the event, Shapiro, who goes under the name Solar Bagel on Instagram, threatened the Jewish community in a post.
"They should not feel safe to practice their bigotry, in the open or in private," she warned. "Escalation means confrontation in our communities, where it starts."
Shapiro, who told Al Jazeera that "Zionism is no kind of Judaism at all" and wrote in The Left Berlin of her support for "intifada revolution," stood trial in Germany on July 30 on the chargers of assaulting a police officer, using a sign of an “unconstitutional” or “terrorist” organization by posting a song on Instagram with the words “from the river to the sea” in the lyrics, and responding with “insult” to an anonymous Instagram account that had messaged her to harass her for being “antisemitic.” Shapiro said she paid thousands of euros in fines and a criminal charge.
These protests have consistently plagued the Jewish community, making them feel unsafe to express themselves and gather freely.
"[The event on Saturday] was not a political rally and had nothing to do with the war in Gaza," said Ester Nafstad, co-founder of Kos & Kaos. "It was a social gathering, part of an event series called Jewish Thoughts – Global Traces. The series highlights Jewish figures in modern history who have had a significant impact in various fields. This time we celebrated Theodor Herzl – a thinker, journalist, and visionary regarded as the founder of modern Zionism."
She questioned the intentions of the protesters: "And what is really the goal here? Should Jews stop meeting? Should we not be allowed to celebrate, to have a social life? Should we be pressured to give up and leave Norway?"
Nafstad added that it is entirely possible to be engaged in Palestinian advocacy without harming Jews, but that targeting a "private Jewish celebration and shout that we will never be safe – that is something else entirely."
"This is not criticism. It is not a political statement. It is hatred and harassment of a small minority," she added.
Louise Kahn, her co-founder, concurred, "This party had nothing to do with the war in Gaza, and we are the ones being blamed for bringing the hate to us. We should be able to talk about Jewish history and a man who saved millions of Jews: Herzl."
Due to the uproar caused by the protesters and complaints from residents, Kos & Kaos will never be able to rent the house again.
Additionally, the community has nowhere to turn to regarding their experiences. Aside from the Norwegian police, no other anti-racism or minority organizations are supportive of Zionist Jewish groups. Kahn explained that the organizations in Norway designed to deal with hate speech - such as the Anti Racism Center - would likely side with Shapiro over the Zionist Jewish community (which is the majority).
For this reason, Kos & Kaos are establishing an anti-antisemitism task force to reclaim agency and take control of the situation.
"We have nowhere to turn to with what we experienced that was scary and hateful," said Kahn. "If you see what Shapiro wrote on her Instagram about 'making sure we never feel safe,' which of the institutions should we turn to with our concerns about the racism slurred at us Saturday?"
Despite the intimidation, Kos & Kaos will continue to grow, Kahn told me. "What began as a small grassroots initiative has become a network that not only strengthens Jewish identity but also offers a home for those, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, who feel increasingly isolated for refusing to adopt the prevailing anti-Israel agenda."
"Our voices will not be silenced," she concluded.