Antisemitism in Denmark reaches highest level in the last ten years

The antisemitism in Denmark is at its highest level since the Jewish Community began registering antisemitic incidents over 10 years ago.

The wave of antisemitic incidents has followed the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and there are several serious incidents. Of the 121 registered incidents, there are 20 threats – either in the form of personal death threats or against Jews as a group.

This is according to the Jewish Community’s account of antisemitic incidents in 2023.

“There is an unprecedented increase both in the number of cases and in severity. If there are still people who deny that we have a problem with antisemitism in Denamrk, it is because they do not want to acknowledge it,” says chairman of the Jewish Community, Henri Goldstein, who emphasizes that the numbers are consistent with a trend that has been documented – including through the National Police’s statistics on hate crimes.

Other studies show that there is an underreporting rate of 80 percent in the reporting of incidents.

“After October 7, we have seen an antisemitism on steroids. It is not the first time that we have observed an increase in antisemitism when the conflict in the Middle East escalates. But this time we have seen a dramatic exacerbation, fueled not least by the uncontrolled spread of hatred on social media,” says Henri Goldstein, who emphasizes that all 121 incidents are antisemitic – and not “just criticism of Israel.”

“It is classic antisemitism about Jews being greedy, manipulative, or unreliable. It is threats and cases of severe harassment. And it is the “new” antisemitism, where we as Danish Jews are held accountable for the policies of the State of Israel,” says Henri Goldstein, urging for a fresh look at the government’s action plan against antisemitism.

“We are immensely grateful for the attention of Danish politicians. But we must acknowledge that we are seeing a very violent and rapid development that requires new solutions,” says Henri Goldstein.