Denmark Sees Record Surge in Antisemitic Incidents in 2024, Alarming Jewish Community

Image: Jihad Watch

In a troubling revelation, Denmark witnessed its highest-ever number of recorded antisemitic incidents in 2024, according to a comprehensive 174-page report published earlier this year by the Department for Mapping and Knowledge Sharing of Antisemitic Incidents (AKVAH). Established in 2011 under the security branch of the Jewish Community in Denmark, AKVAH has long monitored threats, harassment, and violence faced by Jews in the country.

The report paints a disturbing picture: a total of 207 antisemitic incidents were documented in 2024, marking a staggering 71% rise compared to 2023, when 121 cases were reported. The figure is more than eight times higher than a decade ago, underscoring a dramatic and sustained escalation in antisemitic sentiment and actions.

One of the most shocking incidents involved a deliberate arson attack on the home of a Jewish woman — an act AKVAH described as “extreme and life-threatening,” unprecedented since the 2015 terrorist assault on the Great Synagogue in Copenhagen, which claimed the life of volunteer security guard Dan Uzan.

A closer analysis reveals that 60% of the incidents in 2024 were tied to geopolitical issues, particularly Israel, the war in Gaza, and broader unrest in the Middle East. Another disturbing trend was the resurgence of Holocaust-related insults and imagery: 47% of recorded cases included references to Nazi symbolism, Adolf Hitler, or World War II, echoing some of the darkest chapters of human history.

The year also saw a tangible increase in violent attacks. Nine incidents involved physical assaults or harassment, among them the stabbing of a Jewish boy in Slagelse. In addition, five cases involved direct, explicit death threats, while 20 others featured calls for the killing of Jews in general. The report chillingly recounts one such episode, where a Jewish man was told in a Copenhagen pub, “All Jews must die.”

This surge in hatred has left Denmark’s Jewish community deeply unsettled. While Denmark has often prided itself on its image as a tolerant and open society, the scale and intensity of these incidents suggest a growing undercurrent of hostility. The Shakespearean phrase often used as a dramatic flourish — “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” — has rarely felt more apt.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)