The number of antisemitic incidents recorded in Denmark since October 7 are at a peak not seen since the end of WWII, according to statement today (Thursday) by Henri Goldstein, leader of the Danish Jewish community.
According to the numbers, some 121 antisemitic incidents have taken place throughout Denmark since the war started. The data, collected by the Danish Jewish community’s security organization, point to a terrifying trend also visible in other European countries.”
“We saw the greatest wave of antisemitism since 1943, after October 7 we saw antisemitism on steroids,” Goldstein told the Associated Press. “We saw violent escalation, driven quite a bit by uncontrolled spread of hatred on social networks.”
Goldstein pressed this point home: “All the 121 incidents were of Jew hatred – and not just ‘criticism of Israel.’” Among others, 20 of these antisemitic incidents included death threats, “something we haven’t seen since the 1980s.”
The Danish nation has a rich common history with its local Jewish community. During WWII, when antisemitism raged and millions of Jews were being murdered, most of Denmark’s Jews were saved thanks to the resilient opposition of the Danes against the Nazi occupiers. Some 7200 Danish Jews were evacuated to neutral Sweden to prevent their being sent to concentration and death camps.