Copenhagen: Jews take off kippas in Muslim areas to avoid harassment

Copenhagen: Jews take off kippas in Muslim areas to avoid harassment

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If one is Jewish, he should avoid wearing a kippa when going through Nørrebro in Copenhagen.

The risk of being attacked is so great that the head of the Mosaic Faith-Society, Fin Schwarz, advises his members to hide their religious head covering when they go to Nørrebro.

"As recently as May 1st, a young, Jewish man was asked if he was Jewish and then attacked. I I wouldn't advise for people to go with a kippa down Nørrebrogade (Nørrebro avenue)," Finn Schwarz told the Newspaq news agency.

He's sorry that Danish Jewish need to take precautions because there's a group of Danes of a different ethnic background [ie, immigrants] who have a spiteful attitude towards Jews.

"Danish Jewish should of course be able to go on the street without being attacked or harassed, just like any other citizen has that right. In Denmark we've resolved that we don't attack people based on their ethnic or religious background. But that's just not the case, since there's a little group that doesn't understand what is right or wrong," says the chairman.

On Facebook there's a group 'Fuucking jøder' (Fucking Jews), which 160 people say they 'like'. And at the Copenhagen Municipality, people are also aware of the problem.

"It's of course deeply distasteful, but it certainly confirms the trend we're unfortunately seeing that in certain immigrant communities there's very strong antisemitism, and that in some places in Copenhagen it's dangerous to be Jewish," Lars Aslan Rasmussen, Social Democrats council-member in Copenhagen, told Newspaq.

He's now starting a campaign so a Jew can walk safely among Arab groups.

"We've started a campaign in both schools and institutions, but also in clubs were many Arab youth go. Since Jew-hatred is centered in Arab communities," he says.

In the Danish parliament they're also shocked that Danish Jews need to remove their kippas in order to avoid being molested.

"It's really bad. We must ensure that the schools are made aware that it's also permissible to wear a kippa and not least teach Jewish history and about WWII, when they were hunted prey," Peter Skaarup, integration spokesperson for the Danish People's Party, told Newspaq.

Source: Avisen (Danish)