Entrance to the Great Synagogue

A view of Copenhagen

as one nation stood up against evil
when the rest of the world turned
away.
How did it happen then, that
Denmark, a heroic exception in
the history of the Holocaust, is
becoming, as expressed by Italian
journalist Giulio Meotti, a "bit of an
exception once again, in Europe's
post-Holocaust anti-Semitism?"
I called the Great Synagogue in
Copenhagen and was connected to
its Chief Cantor, Oren Atzmor. After
I stated the reason for my call and
the "Danish paradox" question that
bothered me a great deal, Atzmor
said: "Nothing is straightforward.
Let's talk."

DENMARK TODAY
As a curious historic coincidence,
the main synagogue in Copenha-
gen is located in close proximity to
major historical landmarks of the
Danish capital, including the royal
Rosenborg Palace and the observa-
tory called Round Tower, both rep-
resenting favorite building projects
of King Christian IV, who was the
first Scandinavian ruler to open his
country to Jews. During the Nazi
occupation, the Torah scrolls of
the synagogue were hidden at the
Trinitatis Church, right next to the
Round Tower.
Atzmor gave me a brief tour of
this magnificent building, one of
the very few of its period (1830s)
to abandon the classical tradition.
Famous architect G. F. Hetsch used
Egyptian elements in the columns,
and his design was defined by the
building's unique architecture
around the Ark of the Law with
Egyptian motifs on the ceiling and
cornice over the Ark itself.

Inside the Jewish Museum

The cantor planned to start in the
main sanctuary, but on that week-
day morning, the sanctuary was oc-
cupied by a study group of about 30
to 40 people who had their Jewish
history class. All of them are non-
Jews, said Atzmor. Registering my
surprised face, he explained, "Non-
Jewish Danes take a growing inter-
est in Judaism. Some even come to
services on a regular basis:'
Atzmor is a true citizen of the
world. An Israeli by birth, he was
educated as an opera singer in
Vienna and as a wind instrument
player in Berlin. Over 20 years ago,
a friend from Copenhagen invited
Atzmor to come from Vienna and
interview for the job of the chief
cantor, the position he has been
holding ever since.
About 7,000-8,000 Jews live in
Denmark today. Two-thousand
people belong to the Great Syna-
gogue and about 1,000 belong to
three much smaller congregations.
This vibrant community supports
an active Zionist Federation, Wom-
en's International Zionist organiza-
tion, B'nai B'rith, Jewish school and
several publications, with Joedisk
Orientering being the leading Jew-
ish magazine in the country.

GROWING ANTI SEMITISM

-

In January 2013, 17-year-old Moran
Jacob testified at a Copenhagen
City Hall hearing on growing anti-
Semitism and described the harass-
ment he experienced for years while
living in Norrebro, a heavily Muslim
neighborhood in his hometown.
His testimony was corroborated
by Max Mayer, president of the
Danish Zionist Federation, who
stated that "Danish Jews learned to

keep a low profile in the city."
The Danish Jewish community
documented 40 violent anti-Semitic
incidents in 2013, almost double
compared to 2009. An Italian jour-
nalist, Giulio Meotti, wrote that it
is just as unsafe in 2013 to be a Jew
in Copenhagen as it is to be a Jew in
most Middle Eastern countries.
"Yes," agreed Atzmor, "barbed-
wire and security guards surround
the Jewish school in Copenhagen.
And yes, there is a network of 'no-
go' zones in our city. That would be
highly unusual 10 years or so ago."
Some young people from his
congregation are either planning to
leave Denmark or have already left
for Israel, the United States or Aus-
tralia. But this "situation," Atzmor
emphasized the quote signs, "should
not be exaggerated and elevated to
an emergency crisis level.
"This is no more than a temporary
issue," he insisted, "and the best way
to deal with it now is to ignore it."
The issue of kosher slaughter hav-
ing been outlawed in Denmark, just
like in Sweden or Norway, did not
bother him at all. "I am a vegetarian
anyway," he said.
Our new friend, both a citizen of
Denmark and a citizen of the world,
polyglot and erudite, a dedicated
Jewish clergy and a passionate Eu-
ropean musician, left me with more
disturbing questions than definitive
answers.

THE JEWISH MUSEUM
OF DENMARK

Located within both a historic and
contemporary architectural com-
plex (the Renaissance Royal Boat
House-turned the Nordic Romantic
Royal Library-turned Post-Modern

Black Diamond building), the mu-
seum tells its story even before you
even enter.
In the 1990s, the Society for
Danish Jewish History hired the
world-renowned Polish-American
architect Daniel Libeskind to create
the Danish Jewish Museum. Libe-
skind thought the complex of the
Royal Boat House/Library/Black
Diamond contained a unique intel-
lectual context in which the Danish
Jewish Museum would represent
a deep historical legacy. In June
2004, one of the most unusual of
museums opened its doors.
The architect designed the
museum's layout to incorporate a
pedestrian walk between the new
and old libraries, outdoor summer
seating for a cafe and intimate con-
versation spaces at the ground level
of the entrance. When you enter
the exhibition itself, you are inside
a word. This word is in Hebrew:
Mitzvah, meaning "good deed," the
"guiding light" of this project.
And indeed, the entire exhibition
space is full of light coming through
the stained glass windows. Libes-
kind wanted us to feel "a microcosm
of mitzvah transforming light across
the day."
The architect organized the build-
ing inside as a series of planes, each
corresponding to a particular field
of historic and religious narrative:
Exodus, Wilderness, The Giv-
ing of the Law and The Promised
Land. Interior corridors consist of
fractured passageways and slanted
floors. This is how the corridors,
which serve as the museum's
exhibition spaces, whirl us around
and form the Hebrew letters for
Denmark Revisited page 50

RED TIM I April 2015 49

