Dan Uzan, a 37-year-old volunteer security guard, stood outside the Great Synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark, well after midnight. A bat mitzvah celebration was underway inside, with about 80 people in attendance. Uzan, the son of a Danish mother and an Israeli father, both active members of the Copenhagen Jewish community, was shot in the head that night by a Muslim terrorist. He was buried on 18 February 2015, with Prime Minister Thorning-Schmidt among those attending. Police snipers guarded the funeral.
Thirty years earlier, two bombs exploded in another terrorist attack in Copenhagen. One went off near the Great Synagogue. Another unexploded bomb was meant for the El Al airline offices.
There are three locations in Denmark that receive daily military patrols: the Great Synagogue, the Jewish day school, and the Israeli embassy. No other locations in Denmark receive such security. None. Denmark is otherwise a peaceful country with a low crime rate.
Many of us recall a more heroic episode in Danish history. On September 28, 1943, days before Rosh Hashanah, a German diplomat leaked the Nazi plan to deport all Danish Jews beginning on the Jewish New Year. Through the initiative of Danish Jewry, the planning of the Danish resistance movement, and the assistance of many Danish citizens, 7,500 of Denmark’s 8,000 Jews were hidden and eventually ferried by boat to neutral Sweden.
The first to flee to Sweden was theoretical physicist Niels Bohr, whose mother was Jewish. He initially refused the urging that he travel immediately to the United States, where he would soon join the Manhattan Project and help develop the atomic bomb. He would not leave until he knew Sweden’s King Gustaf would grant refuge to Danish Jews.
The history of Denmark’s Jewish community is but a slice of the anti-Jewish sentiment of the last hundred years. The two modern episodes of violence recounted above are only a fraction of thousands of recent stories. The Torah holds no comparable stories to guide us.
Deuteronomy offered the wandering people security in the Land of Israel if they obeyed God’s laws; no plan B was presented. Permit me to be dubious of God’s protection for Jews of the diaspora.
Israelis and Diaspora Jews share a common fear: a never-ending threat to our safety, wherever we reside. Many French Jews have plans to leave France. Many American Jews joke about needing an escape plan. And recent polling shows that a striking share of Israelis say they would consider leaving the country if Netanyahu wins reelection this October.
The problem with all these plans is that there are not many Swedens in which to find safe harbor. Whether we are Torah-observant Jews or Niels Bohr, whose Jewish identity rested on having a Jewish mother, insecurity is part of our Jewish character. We pray for the best and plan for Sweden.
Rabbi Evan J. Krame
If this reflection resonates with you, consider sharing it on social media—or simply take a moment to reflect on how you can create a better community.
