Bad News from Norway

Police officer threatens synagogue in Trondheim

A Norwegian police cadet recently refused to wear a kippah when visiting the synagogue in Trondheim on the grounds that he was Muslim. The guide said that wearing a kippah was a question of showing respect for a house of worship much in the same way that taking off shoes in a mosque would  be. The police cadet expressed his displeasure by way of blasphemous profanity and threatening gestures, and then left. Apparently, he later told his fellow cadets that he had "finally put the Jews in their place."

The chairman of the synagogue described the incident in a letter of complaint to the police. In the meantime, the cadet has become a fully-fledged police officer in active service. The police authorities have promised to investigate the matter.

90% of Norwegian police officers accused of racism

Aftenposten reports that 90% of all police officers in the field have at one time or another been accused of racism. And that 30% are subject to such accusations every month. This on the basis of a poll NRK conducted among about 1000 police officers. The response from the police officers is that the accusations typically are made when cars are pulled over, and that those who make the accusations are trying to divert attention away from their misdeeds.

Norwegian municipal leadership: no immigrants need apply

A recent study by Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities has found that 98% of Norway's municipalities have no individuals of immigrant background in their senior leadership ranks. This in spite of efforts to integrate immigrants and their descendants into Norwegian society by dispersing them across the country. Municipal authorities by and large attribute this to lack of Norwegian language skills, but Amir Keyani, one of the few who has such a senior role and has been in Norway for 20 years, also points out that Norwegian authorities don't accept foreign educational degrees, and that prejudice against certain names, skin color, etc., play an important role.

Violent clashes between Kurds and Turks in Oslo

The Norwegian Turkish committee's demonstration at Youngstorget in Oslo resulted in violence Saturday afternoon. Turkish and Kurdish demonstrators fought each other with sticks and fists, and one person was badly injured. Police were on hand to break up the demonstration. There were similar standoffs in other Norwegian cities, but this one turned violent.

Non-Western immigrants face tough labor market

The labor market is improving for all sectors of job seekers in Norway, except for non-Western immigrants and especially Africans. The unemployment rate in Norway is 1.7 percent, but only for individuals who don't have dark skin.