Peace Ring Formed Around Copenhagen Synagogue

By JTA March 15, 2015

More than 1,000 people formed a peace ring around a Copenhagen synagogue that came under deadly attack last month.

Muslim, Jewish and Christian participants held hands and called for peace during the display of solidarity at the central Copenhagen shul, or Krystalgade Synagogue, on Saturday afternoon, according to reports.

On Feb. 14, a volunteer Jewish security guard, Dan Uzan, was shot and killed there by a lone Islamist gunman who hours earlier had killed one in a shooting at a free speech event at a cultural center in the Danish capital.

The peace ring was the initiative of Niddal El-Jabri, a Copenhagen Muslim man who told the news website thelocal.dk that he wanted Jews to feel safe and welcome in the city.

Among the participants was Uzan’s father, as well as Denmark’s chief rabbi, Jair Melchior, Economy Minister Morten Ostergaard, Minister for Higher Education Sofie Carsten-Nielsen.

Police had cited security concerns for rejecting the original request for such a rally, which was made a week after the shootings.

The Copenhagen organizers duplicated a similar initiative that took place last month in Oslo, where reports said that more than 1,000 people, including many Muslims, formed a human chain around a synagogue in a show of support for Jews.

A separate Danish Muslim group held a peace vigil in Copenhagen’s City Hall Square on Feb. 27 that was attended by an estimated 300 people, the local.dk news website reported.

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