In blessed memory of Dan Uzan Z”L

This Shabbat, 15 February, is the fifth anniversary of the brutal terrorist murder of Danish Jewish security volunteer Dan Uzan Z”L. Dan was shot dead by Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein whilst protecting 80 people at a Bat Mitzvah at the Great Synagogue in Copenhagen. El-Hussein was a supporter of ISIS who had killed filmmaker Finn Noergaard at a free speech event hours before attacking the Great Synagogue and murdering Dan.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen commemorated the tragic attacks and laid flowers in memory of both Uzan and Noergaard. In November 2015 Dan was posthumously awarded the French medal of courage and was later named ‘Dane of the Year’ by The Berlingske Media group, with over 25,000 readers voting.

Dan is an inspiration for all the men and women who regularly protect their Jewish communities across Europe and those who serve as CST volunteers here in the United Kingdom. One of CST’s security teams is named after Dan and his photograph hangs in CST offices alongside that of Yoel Kohen Ulçer Z”L, who was murdered by an al-Qaeda suicide bomber in November 2003 while protecting the Beth Israel Synagogue in Istanbul. Their blessed memories are an inspiration to our work.