Bilateral relations
Denmark?Israel relations
refers to the
bilateral relationship
between
Denmark
and
Israel
.
History
[
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]
Pre-Israel
[
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]
Jens Otto Krag
&
Levi Eshkol
Per Hækkerup
& Levi Eshkol
During
World War I
, in 1918, the
World Zionist Organization
set up a central office in
Copenhagen
in order to present the claims of the Jewish people at
the Paris peace conference
.
From 9 April 1940, to August 1943, the Danish Jewish community was safe from
persecution
. The Danish
underground
smuggled 7,000 Jews to
Sweden
. This act brought to the endowment of the
honorific
Righteous Among Nations
to the
Danish resistance movement
, and it is found at the base of the bilateral relations of the countries. Every 5 years, the rescue operation is commemorated and celebrated in both countries. In addition, in
Jerusalem
(1962) and
Haifa
(2013), there are special sculpture monuments dedicated to the rescue of
Danish Jews
, set in plazas bearing the name "Denya (Denmark) Square". In Jerusalem, there is a
school
named in Denmark's
honor
. King
Christian X
hospital in
Eitanim
is named after Denmark's king during
World War II
. In
Copenhagen
, the main monument the Stone at
Israels Plads
(1968).
[1]
[2]
The
Ryvangen Memorial Park
in
Hellerup
(1950) has references to
Danish underground members
who risked their lives to rescue
Jews
. Two memorial monuments more exist next to the wharves from where the Jews were sent to
Sweden
in
Gilleleje
and
Køge
.
Formation of Israel
[
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]
Denmark voted for the
partition of Palestine
in 1947 and supports Israel in the
United Nations
. Denmark has an embassy in Israel, and Israel has an embassy in Copenhagen since 1949.
[3]
[4]
Denmark recognized and established diplomatic relations with Israel on 2 February 1949.
[5]
During the first decades of the existence of the
State of Israel
, many
Danes
admired the young country, striving to flourish amid hostile neighbors, basing itself on
socialist values
. Thousands of Danes came to
volunteer
starting the 1960s in Israeli
kibbuzim
. It is estimated that over 2,000 Danes came to volunteer in
Israel
, and that 20 out of 179
parliament
members in 2010 were actual kibbutz volunteers in their past.
In 2003, On the 60th anniversary of the end of
World War II
, the former prime minister,
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
, told a crowd of people that the actions of Nazi collaborators are a stain on Denmark's otherwise good reputation. Because of the rescue of all Danish Jews during World War II, the
Yad Vashem
declared the collective
Danish resistance
as
Righteous Among the Nations
.
[6]
In May 2005, Denmark apologized for sending Jews to
Nazi concentration camps
.
During the
2014 Israel?Gaza conflict
, there were protests in Copenhagen,
Aarhus
and
Odense
. In Copenhagen, the police estimated between 500 and 600 people demonstrated in front of the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen.
[7]
400 people protested in
Aarhus
, and 500 in
Odense
.
[8]
The political lives of the two states have been somewhat intertwined: The former Israeli minister of social and diaspora affairs
Michael Melchior
was born in Denmark and is the son of former chief rabbi in Copenhagen,
Bent Melchior
, the nephew of former Danish minister of traffic and minister of tourism and communication
Arne Melchior
, and the grandson of the acting rabbi for the Jewish refugees from Denmark in Sweden 1943?45,
Marcus Melchior
; the executive director of the
Peres Center for Peace
2001?2011,
Ron Pundak
, who played an important role in starting the
Oslo peace process
and was part of the core group behind the
Geneva Initiative
, is the son of the influential Danish journalist
Herbert Pundik
; and prominent Israeli politician
Yohanan Plesner
, former chairman of the
Plesner Committee
, is the son of Danish architect
Ulrik Plesner
.
Historical visits
[
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]
In January 1962, Viggo Kampmann,
Danish Prime minister
, was the first senior figure from Denmark to ever visit Israel. He inaugurated, during his visit, the "Denya Square" in
Jerusalem
in a ceremony attended also by the former
prime minister of Israel
,
David Ben-Gurion
and
Jerusalem's mayor
,
Mordechai Ish-Shalom
. In 1965,
prime minister
Jens Otto Krag
, visited Israel, and in 1972, foreign affair minister,
Knud Børge Andersen
paid his visit. In 1983,
Danish Prime minister
,
Poul Schluter
, visited
Israel
, being the first figure to visit Israel, pertaining to the
Conservative People's Party
, while all previous belonged to the
Social democrats Party
.
In 2002 Israel's foreign affair minister,
Shimon Peres
, visited
Denmark
to meet with his counterpart and the prime minister, in honor of Denmark's presidency of the
European Union
for that year. During the visit, a beer glass was thrown at him as he was walking through the
Tivoli Gardens
.
[9]
In 2013,
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
visited
Israel
, being the first Danish, and
Scandinavian
, royal to ever visit
Israel
. He met with
President Peres
, who expressed the gratitude of Israel to the Danish people for their actions to rescue Jews during the
Holocaust
.
[10]
[11]
In 2016,
Lars Løkke Rasmussen
paid a private tour to Israel, where he met Israeli Prime minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu
[12]
In 2018,
the Israeli president
,
Reuven Rivlin
, visited
Denmark
to mark the 75th anniversary of the
rescue of the Danish Jews
. During the most covered visit, he spoke at the
Gilleleje
church and at the
Jewish synagogue
of
Copenhagen
.
[13]
Israeli ambassadors to Denmark
[
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]
See also
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]
References
[
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]
Further reading
[
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]
- Friis, Thomas Wegener, and Nir Levitan. "Far away: The relation between Denmark and Israel." in
Israel in a Turbulent Region
(Routledge, 2019. 149-175).
External links
[
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]
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