16th February 2015
It is with profound shock and sorrow that we learn of yet another lethal antisemitic attack in Europe.
Just after midnight on Sunday, 15th February, Omar el-Hussein shot and killed 38 year old Dan Uzan, a volunteer who was standing guard outside a synagogue in Copenhagen, while 80 members of the Jewish community celebrated a bar mitzvah inside. Dan Uzan was murdered because he was protecting a Jewish place of worship.
The Australian Jewish community stands in complete solidarity with the Jews of Denmark as we mourn the loss of Dan Uzan. May his memory be a blessing and may his death not be in vain. We wish long life to Dan’s family and friends. We also pray for the full recovery of the two police officers who were shot and injured in the attack while protecting the synagogue.
Much like the terrorist attacks in Paris last month, the assailant in Copenhagen first targeted a symbol of free speech, attacking a symposium hosted by the cartoonist, Lars Vilks, before turning his attention to the city’s Jewish community.
This pattern of murder and mayhem demonstrates that attacks against Jews, as Jews, are inseparable from the assault on freedom and democracy. As conveyed by the Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, “… when you attack the Jewish community, you attack our democracy.”
Islamist terror is not a response to particular grievances, real or imagined, but rather a totalitarian campaign by violent fanatics seeking world domination and the destruction of any social order built upon the values of the Enlightenment.
This latest attack further underscores the vulnerability of Jewish people even in advanced, western societies. It demonstrates once more that antisemitism is real and it is deadly.
We hope that all the people of Denmark will find strength in this difficult time and will emerge united and resilient to confront the scourge of Islamist terror which threatens the basic rights and freedoms of all of us.
| Robert Goot AM SC, President, Executive Council of Australian Jewry |
Peter Wertheim AM, Executive Director, Executive Council of Australian Jewry |
Contact:
Peter Wertheim AM Executive Director
ph: 02 8353 8500 | m: 0408 160 904
e: pwertheim@ecaj.org.au | www.ecaj.org.au
