Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Rabbi’s Speech Sparks Vandalism at Copenhagen Church in Gunman’s Neighborhood

A Copenhagen church was vandalized in an anti-Semitic event hours before a rabbi was scheduled to speak there.

“Free Gaza” and “Close the Death Camps” was spray-painted on the door of the Anna Church in the Copenhagen district of Nørrebro overnight Sunday, the Local reported. Bricks also were thrown through some of the church’s windows.

Bent Melchior, Denmark’s former chief rabbi, was scheduled to speak at the church on Sunday about the 70th anniversary of the county’s liberation from the Nazis.

Without being totally immodest, I have to admit that it was directed at me. I am sorry that there are such idiots around, and I am full of regret that I had to be the occasion for such a thing, ” Melchior told the Danish newspaper Politiken.

The rabbi reportedly had received repeated death threats, some very specific. The lecture was held Sunday as planned.

Copenhagen Police are treating the incident as being politically motivated, according to the report.

In February, a terror attack outside a Copenhagen synagogue left a Jewish volunteer security guard dead.

The accused gunman, whose parents are Palestinian, lived in Norrebro not far from the church.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.