After Norwegian organizations supporting Palestinians and opposing Israel and Zionism held a ceremony in Oslo to mark Kristallnacht (the 1938 Nazi pogrom known as the "Night of Broken Glass") and attempted to draw parallels between Nazi actions and those of Israel, another scandal surrounding the Jewish community has now struck the country.
The SV party, the most anti-Israel party in the Norwegian parliament, which demanded that Norway's sovereign wealth fund divest from Israel and conditioned support for any future government on imposing a boycott on Israel, held a controversial candle-lighting ceremony during Hanukkah.
"Today we lit candles to mark Hanukkah – together with Jewish Voices for Just Peace and The Palestinian Committee. This is the essence of solidarity. Standing against injustice, no matter where. Standing together for human dignity, no matter who," the party declared on its social media pages after lighting the candles.
While the Jewish tradition marks Hanukkah as the victory of light over darkness, the renewal of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, and the freedom of Jewish religion and culture, elements in Norway continue attempting to adopt Jewish narratives and turn them against the majority of the Jewish people who support Zionism and the State of Israel. "The lighting of the candles emphasizes the struggle for the liberation of all people and the fight against antisemitism and racism. Values that recognize no boundaries based on religion or ethnic origin, but which we can and must all unite around. No one is free until everyone is free," the Socialist Left Party explained.
This is not a joke. One of the parties represented in Norway's Parliament, the Socialist Left Party, chose this week to light a public menorah in central Oslo — "for the people of Palestine and the victims there."
A Jewish symbol, tied to the holiday of Chanukah, was… pic.twitter.com/URS7dARV0I
— Daniel Schatz (@drdanielschatz) December 22, 2025
"This is not a joke. One of the parties represented in Norway's Parliament, the Socialist Left Party, chose this week to light a public menorah in central Oslo — 'for the people of Palestine and the victims there,'" wrote Swedish Jewish journalist Daniel Schatz in a post on X. "A Jewish symbol, tied to the holiday of Chanukah, was deliberately appropriated to advance an anti-Israel agenda. This took place the very same week Jews were massacred in Australia. If this is where Norway's political culture stands, then yes — Norway is lost."
The SV party, which won approximately 6% in the last elections, placed the boycott of Israel at the center of its campaign in the most recent elections held in September. It is one of three parties sharply opposed to Israel's policies, but it was the only one that conditioned support for the government on the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund – which manages assets worth approximately $2 trillion – divesting from every Israeli company, and even sought to act against any company maintaining ties with Israel.
