When the European Jewish Association (EJA) meets this afternoon in Brussels to remember the victims of the shootings in Copenhagen last month, a young Danish Muslim will be in attendance.
Niddal El-Jabri – one of the organisers of the ring of peace initiative around the synagogue in Krystalgade in Copenhagen – will be honoured with a special prize by the EJA for his efforts in uniting Jews and Muslims in the aftermath of the shootings.
“We give this prize to Niddal El-Jabri in recognition of his efforts to promote tolerance and equality across communities,” Menachem Margolin, a rabbi from the EJA, told DR Nyheder.
“History continues to show us that good people are needed to fight evil. Mr El-Jabri has taken that message to heart and shown that peaceful actions from civilians work as an anti-venom against hateful violence and intolerance.”
READ MORE: How close-knit Denmark is responding to the Copenhagen shootings
Police relented
Niddal El-Jabri initially came up with the idea shortly after the Copenhagen terror attack in mid-February, and while the police initially turned his idea down due to security issues, they later relented and up to 1,000 people showed up on March 14 to create a human ring around the synagogue.
Denmark’s recently-appointed EU commissioner for competition, Margrethe Vestager, will be at hand to present El-Jabri with his prize.
