Denmark has experienced a fall of 25 per cent in the number of people registered in its Jewish community in the past 15 years, according to Finn Schwarz, the president of the Jewish community.
In a recent interview, the Mosaisk Troessamfund president said the number of members in the community has dropped from 2,639 in 1997 to 1,899 today. He noted that for young Jews considering where to live their lives, they may be more tempted to choose the US or Israel, where there are no negative connotations towards Jewish people.
Schwarz, who opined that anti-Semitism was partly to blame for the drop in the Jewish community, pointed out that they registered 40 anti-Semitic incidents last year, almost twice the number registered in 2009.
Meanwhile, Eva Boggild, the director of Danish Jewish magazine Goldberg, explained that anti-Semitism is regarded not only as physical and verbal threats, but also as discussions among politicians about topics such as banning circumcision and outlawing shechita, the Jewish ritual slaughter of mammals or birds for food according to dietary laws.
Boggild said Jews are tempted to move to another country where they feel living a Jewish life will be less constrictive. However, she also is of the opinion that the apparent fall in numbers could be related to the fact only the Orthodox community in Denmark is regarded as the Jewish community.
She explained that the community could act as an umbrella organisation for the religious groups charged with handling Jewish institutions like old people’s homes and schools, pointing out that this would this would enable new members to join without forcing the current members to alter their traditional Jewish ways.
Last week, the Danish government paid homage to its Jewish community on the 70th anniversary of the evacuation of 7,500 Danish Jews on fishing vessels to neutral Sweden, enabling them to survive the Holocaust.