Norway’s state broadcaster NRK is under fire after airing antisemitic jokes on a televised satire program intended for viewers aged 9 and up.
The controversial remarks were made during Saturday’s episode of Nytt på Nytt, a satirical news show. Host Tuva Johannessen joked: “U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson believes reasonable people thank America for bombing ships full of fentanyl — but if you replace fentanyl with Jews, it suddenly doesn’t sound so okay.”
The joke was met with laughter from the panel. Johannessen then followed up with another reference, recalling a previous joke about the past smuggling of porn magazines from Sweden to Norway. “Imagine if Jews were being smuggled from Sweden to Norway — that wouldn’t work,” he said.
The jokes prompted harsh criticism from Jewish community advocates and Israeli officials.
On Elpeleg, an Israeli educator living in Norway who monitors antisemitism on NRK, said the government continues to ignore complaints about antisemitic content aired on public television. “The hosts’ cynical humor is simply warped. The goal here is to humiliate Jews. What’s worse is that this is a show officially rated for children age 9 and up — practically an invitation for parents to watch with their kids. And then people wonder why antisemitism is surging here,” he said.
Just a week earlier, an NRK radio program aired another antisemitic joke. A host said: “I have a great morning joke for our listeners. Do you know what happened to the Jew who ran into a wall with an erection? He broke his nose.”
Following that incident, the Israeli Embassy in Oslo condemned the remarks: “Antisemitism is never funny. It is unacceptable for such ‘humor’ to be given a platform by Norway’s public broadcaster and remain online. Action must be taken.” NRK did not remove the offending segment but issued an apology after the backlash.
Elpeleg added: “It’s 2025, not 1945 — yet we’re hearing Nazi jokes on state TV again. It’s unbelievable that this broadcaster, which collaborated with the Nazis and boosted their morale between 1940 and 1945, is still operating like this 80 years later. Schools have started teaching about the ‘genocide’ to 13-year-olds, but at the same time, this is being normalized on educational television. I’ve worked in education here for 25 years, and I’m stunned. History is repeating itself.”