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 March 14, according to reports.
On Feb. 14, a volunteer Jewish security guard, Dan Uzan, was shot and killed there by a lone Islamist gunman. Hours earlier, the same gunman killed another person at a free speech event at a Copenhagen cultural center. The gunman was killed in a shootout with police.
Among the participants in the peace ring was Uzan’s father, as well as Denmark’s chief rabbi, Jair Melchior, and government ministers Morten Ostergaard and Sofie Carsten-Nielsen.
The ring was the initiative of Niddal El-Jabri, a Copenhagen Muslim who told the news website www.thelocal.dk that he wanted Jews to feel safe and welcome in the city. Police had cited security concerns for rejecting the original request for such a rally, which was made a week after the shootings. — jta