Architectural historian Carol Herselle Krinsky describes the two-story tall, stuccoed building with a round tower topped with a spire supporting a Star of David as resembling "a simple and charming country chapel.

[8] On 21 February 2015, around 1,000 people formed a human "ring of peace" outside the synagogue on Shabbat, to show that they deplore antisemitic violence.

Zeeshan Abdullah, a co-organizer, stated that "We want to demonstrate that Jews and Muslims do not hate each other...We do not want individuals to define what Islam is for the rest of us...There are many more peace-mongers than warmongers."

The crowd of Muslims, Jews, and others held hands in unity as Norway's Chief Rabbi Michael Melchior sang "Eliyahu Hanavi", the traditional song after Havdalah.

Ervin Kohn, the president of the Norwegian Jewish community, told enquiring reporters that the exact number of Muslims among those present at the demonstration was impossible to quantify.