§ 2 of the Norwegian constitution and the Jews

[Pallantides]

*Den evangelisk-lutherske Religion forbliver Statens offentlige Religion. De Indvaanere, der bekjende seg til den, ere forpligtede til at opdrage sine Børn i samme. Jesuitter og Munkeordener maae ikke taales. Jøder ere fremdeles udelukkede fra Adgang til Riget.*

translation:

The evangelical Lutheran religion will stay as the States offical religion, those of the population who confess to it, must raise their children to do the same, Jesuits and Monk orders can not be tolerated, Jews are still barred from entry to the kingdom.

§ 2 from the Norwegian constitution(1814 to 1851), dubbed the 'Jew paragraf' in common speech, was a continuation of the law passed in 1687 by Christian V of Denmark, that decreed that no Jews were allowed to enter or reside in Norway without a special pass from the king.

In 1851 the 'Jew paragraf' was dissolved, it was brought back on 13. mars 1942 by the NS regime and dissolved again May 11, 1945 with the surrender of the German forces at Akershus Fortress.(After the war Quisling was also condemned for illegaly changing the constitution... wich is a bit ironic, since he just reintroduced it in it's original form.)


§ 2 from 1968 and onwards:



*Alle Indvaanere av Riget have fri Religionsøvelse. Den evangelisk-lutherske Religion forbliver Statens offentlige Religion. De Indvaanere, der bekjende seg til den, ere forpligtede til at opdrage sine Børn i samme.

translation:

all citizens of the kingdom have religious freedom. The evangelical Lutheran religion will stay as the States offical religion, those of the population who confess to it, must raise their children to do the same.

[Pallantides]

Constitutional ban

Based on short-lived hopes that Denmark's concessions at the Treaty of Kiel in 1814 would allow for Norwegian independence, a constituent assembly was convened in Eidsvoll in the spring of 1814. Although Denmark had only a few months before completely lifted all restrictions on Jews, the assembly, after some debate, went the other way. Jews were to "continue" to be excluded from the realm, as part of the clause that made Lutheranism the official state religion, though with free exercise of religion as the general rule.
Several of the framers had formulated views on Jews before the convention had started, among them Lauritz Weidemann, who wrote somewhat incoherently that "The Jewish nation's history proves, that this people always has been rebellious and deceitful, and their religious teachings, the hope of again arising as a nation, so often they have acquired some remarkable fortune, led them to intrigues and to create a state within a state. It is of vital importance to the security of the state that an absolute exception be made about them."
Those who supported the continued ban did so for several reasons, among them theological prejudice. Nicolai Wergeland and Georg Sverdrup felt that it would be incompatible with Judaism to deal honestly with Christians, writing that "no person of the Jewish faith may come within Norway's borders, far less reside there." Peter Motzfeld also supported the ban, but on the slightly different basis that the Jewish identity was too strong to allow for full citizenship. Other prominent framers, such as Hans Christian Ulrik Midelfart spoke "beautifully" in defense of the Jews, and also Johan Caspar Herman Wedel-Jarlsberg expressed in more muted terms the backwardness of the proposition.
Those who opposed admission of Jews prevailed decisively when the matter was put to a vote, and the second paragraph of constitution read:
“ § 2. The evangelical-Lutheran religion remains the State's public religion. Those inhabitants who profess to it, are obliged to raise their children in the same. Jesuits and monastic orders may not be tolerated. Jews remain excluded from admission to the kingdom. ”
This effectively maintained the legal status quo from about 1813 but put Norway sharply at odds with trends in both Denmark and Sweden, where laws and decrees in the early 19th century were granting Jews greater, not more limited liberties.
Meanwhile, a small number of Jewish converts to Christianity had settled in Norway, some of them rising to prominence. Among them were Ludvig Mariboe, Edvard Isach Hambro, and Heinrich Glogau. In 1817, Glogau had challenged Christian Magnus Falsen, one of the proponents of the ban against Jews at the constitutional assembly about the meaning of the prohibition, asking whether he should be embarrassed by his ancestors or his homeland when relating his legacy to his children. Falsen responded by asserting that Judaism "carries nothing but ridicule and contempt toward the person that does not profess to it...making it a duty for each Jew to destroy [all nations that accept him]."
Indeed, a number of Jews who found themselves in Norway were fined and deported. A ship bound for England floundered off the west coast of Norway in 1817, and one of those who washed ashore was Michael Jonas, a Polish Jew. He was escorted out of the country under heavy guard. This heavy-handed approach caused consternation, and the chief of police in Bergen was ordered to personally pay for the costs of the deportation. There were also deportation proceedings against suspected who couldn't produce a baptismal certificate, among them the singer Carl Fredrich Coppello (alias Meyer Marcus Koppel), opticians Martin Blumenbach and Henri Leia, Moritz Lichtenheim, and others.