Thousands of Danes form human chain outside Copenhagen synagogue in show of unity

Thousands of people of different faiths have formed a human ring outside the synagogue in Copenhagen where a Jewish security guard was fatally shot last month.

Organizer Niddal El-Jabr says the idea behind the show of unity was to “send a powerful statement” that “Jews should able to have their religion in peace.”

Saturday’s gathering was inspired by similar symbolic events in Scandinavia in recent weeks. On February 27, Copenhagen’s mayor joined a “ring of peace” on the nearby City Hall square. Police then had banned any events outside the synagogue, citing security.

On February 15, Omar El-Hussein killed Dan Uzan, the guard, and Danish filmmaker Finn Noergaard, who was attending a free speech event in Copenhagen, several kilometers away.