WJC CEO meets Scandinavian Jewish and political leaders to discuss security situation

World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer paid a visit to Finland, Norway and Denmark to discuss the situation of the Jewish communities in Scandinavia in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Copenhagen, which came as a shock to Scandinavian Jews.

Singer met with community leaders in Helsinki, Oslo and Copenhagen, as well as with government officials and lawmakers of these three countries, to analyze the security situation. The heads of all three Jewish communities told him that Jews were feeling increasingly uncomfortable and that anti-Semitism was clearly on the rise. However, they also emphasized that cooperation with the authorities in their respective countries was good.

Singer's visit included meetings with Danish Justice Minister Mette Frederiksen, at which he and Denmark's Jewish Community head Dan Asmussen discussed the responsibility of the Danish government for the physical security of Jews in the country. Frederiksen guaranteed that the protection of the community was not dependent on finances and that the Danish government would maintain a strong police presence at Jewish sites until a long-term plan to the security is elaborated by the police.

In Oslo, the WJC delegation also met with the State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affiars Bård Glad Pedersen and the ministry's Director-General Wegger Strømmen, as well as with the initiators of the peace-ring in Oslo in order to thank them and to discuss joint action for further similar initiatives.

In a meeting with MP Özlem Cekic from the Danish Socialist People's Party, it was agreed that in the current political climate it was important to build bridges between the Jewish and Muslim minorities in European countries.