Norway’s Proposed “Laws of Shame”

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In a revealing article by Jeff Ballabon, Norway’s Ban on Jews, he highlights Norway’s proposed law banning certain commercial activity involving Israeli settlements in Judea, Samaria, and parts of Jerusalem as being directed not at the State of Israel but at the private lives and livelihoods of Jews living in the affected areas. Emphasizing that violations could carry criminal penalties, including imprisonment, and notes that the measure effectively seeks to prevent Norwegians from doing business with Jews because of where they live.

Ballabon continues by explaining that this policy is little more than an antisemitic “purity test,” while emphasizing that the impact of this law would not only harm Jewish residents but would also target Arab workers employed by Jewish-owned businesses. Ballabon goes on to draw attention to the historical comparison between the current proposed restrictions and earlier Norwegian policies toward Jews, most particularly the 1814 constitutional exclusion of Jews, its repeal in 1851, and the reimposition of anti-Jewish measures under Quisling during World War II, noting that Norwegian authorities participated in the arrest and deportation of Norwegian Jews during the Holocaust.

Ballabon makes another comparison between the current proposed restrictions by Norway with measures which were employed by the Palestinian Authority and which persecuted Arabs simply for the act of selling land to Jews, chastising Norway for its attempt to similarly restrict a Western governmental and legal imprimatur. He contrasts Norway’s stated commitment to universal human rights with what he describes as its treatment of Jews living in Judea and Samaria.

Overall, Ballabon presents the proposed law in the context of a historical continuity in hostile Norwegian attitudes toward Jews, characterizing contemporary terminology such as “colonization,” “settlements,” and international law as being unable to mask the underlying purpose of employing these tactical terms: restricting Jewish commerce and making Jewish life in Judea and Samaria increasingly difficult and unsafe. He concludes by warning that Norway’s historical “clause of shame” could imminently become its present-day “laws of shame.”

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Norway’s ban on Jews