Denmark – If you are a Jew living in or visiting Denmark, you may want to think twice about wearing a yarmulke or speaking Hebrew in public according to Denmark’s Jewish Religious Community organization and the Israeli ambassador to Denmark.
“We advise Israelis who come to Denmark and want to go to the synagogue to wait to don their skull caps until they enter the building and not to wear them in the street, irrespective of whether the areas they are visiting are seen as being safe,” Arthur Avnon, Israel’s ambassador to Denmark told AFP (http://read.bi/W6qcWy). Avnon said tourists should also be careful about wearing Star of David or other identifiably Jewish pieces of jewelry. Jewish private schools in Copenhagen were also told to take precautions.
The warnings were issued following an attack on the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen on November 19 in retaliation for Israel’s settlement expansions and its Pillar of Defense Operation against Hamas. During the embassy attack, which involved fireworks and stone-throwing, the word “childkillers” was scrawled in paint on the embassy entrance wall. There was no official response to the incident from the Denmark government.
An estimated 6,000 to 8,000 Jews reside in Denmark.