- The head of Denmark’s Jewish community reports that the country has seen a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents since the October 7, 2023 Israeli attack, reaching levels not seen since World War II. did.
- Recent statistics compiled by the Jewish community’s security services show a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents, comparable to trends in other European countries.
- Of the 121 incidents recorded, 20 involved death threats.
The number of anti-Semitic incidents registered in Denmark since the October 7 Israeli attack that sparked the Gaza war has reached levels not seen since World War II, the small Scandinavian nation says. the head of the Jewish community said Thursday.
The biggest wave of anti-Semitism is occurring in Denmark since it was occupied by Nazi Germany in 1943, Henri Goldstein, head of the 1,800-member Jewish community, told The Associated Press on Thursday. Ta. Approximately 7,200 Danish Jews fled to neutral Sweden that year to avoid being deported to Nazi concentration camps, leaving almost no Jews left in Denmark.
The figures, compiled by the community’s security organization, were on par with reports from other European countries. “After October 7, we started seeing anti-Semitism on steroids,” Goldstein said.
Almost half of American Jews change their behavior to avoid anti-Semitism, study finds
“We have seen a violent escalation fueled by the uncontrolled spread of hatred, especially on social media,” he said, adding that in 2023, “all 121 incidents were anti-Jewish and ‘ It was not just a criticism of Israel.”
Danish soldiers guard a synagogue in Copenhagen on December 16, 2023. The number of anti-Semitic incidents registered in Denmark since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza War has reached levels not seen since World War II, a small Jewish nation in the Scandinavian country. Community Director II said Thursday. (Nils Meywang/Ritzau Scanpics, via AP, File)
Of the 121 incidents, 20 were death threats, “unprecedented since the 1980s” against two key figures in the Jewish community: the editor-in-chief and the chief rabbi at the time, Goldstein said. You mentioned intimidation.
Goldstein said Danish Jews were advised not to openly wear Jewish symbols.
Most of the incidents involved hate messages, and more than half of them occurred online. Although the report only mentions known cases of anti-Semitism, the community said that “the vast majority of incidents of anti-Semitism are never reported.”
Elite Vermont liberal arts college embroiled in anti-Semitism scandal: ‘campus environment hostile to Jews’
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, reports of anti-Semitic acts and comments have increased in many European countries.
There are currently up to 7,000 Jews in Denmark.
Occupied by Nazi Germany from April 1940 to May 1945, Denmark was one of the few European countries whose Jewish population was largely saved from the Holocaust. In a dangerous rescue operation that took place between September and October 1943, approximately 95% of Denmark’s Jewish population managed to escape by crossing a narrow waterway from northeastern Denmark to neutral Sweden.
