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Anti-Semitism in Norway

A major Norwegian bank issued a personal credit card with an anti-Semitic image embedded by the customer and, following a complaint, revoked the card and apologized.

DNB, one of the largest financial services groups in Norway, issued a credit card featuring a classic anti-Semitic image of a hook-nosed Jew wearing a prayer shawl.

An Israeli advocacy group, the Hallelu Foundation, alerted the bank to apologize and retract the card.

“We have been notified about a picture of a visa card issued by us with a picture of a anti-Semitic drawing of a Jew,” Even Westerveld, the bank’s executive vice president for communications, wrote to Hallelu.

“We looked at the case immediately and found out that this was produced due to a system we have where clients can upload their own pictures and get them printed on their card,” Westerveld explained. “We have, however, strict guidelines for what kind of pictures are allowed, and this control is manual. Unfortunately, our manual control failed in this particular case, and we are deeply sorry. This card should never have been printed.”

The bank executive said DNB would contact the client, block the card and issue a new, “neutral” card. He also pointed out that this was a singular incident and not a mass-produced card.

“We are very sorry for this, and hope you can convey our answer if you get questions about this,” he stated.