A planned demonstration by the group ‘All On the Street for a Free Palestine’ on Denmark’s Liberation Day, May 5th, has sparked outrage among several politicians and public figures. The demonstration, aimed at protesting what they call a “genocide in Gaza,” has caused controversy by falling on a national commemoration day. Minister for Ecclesiastical Affairs Morten Dahlin (V) has publicly criticized the event on the social media platform X, where he describes it as “totally shameless” to involve Danish resistance fighters in a current political conflict. “Let us celebrate Denmark’s liberation without everything having to be about Palestine,” he says.
The demonstration has also received criticism from Danish Jew and journalist Shani Hannah Shalom, who also expresses her outrage on social media: “You truly have no shame in life.” Elise Bjerkrheim, a former candidate for the Free Greens in the Danish parliament, is behind the controversial post announcing the demonstration. She defends the event and points out that it is important to use commemorative days as an opportunity to stand up against all forms of genocide. “There are demonstrations every weekend. There is nothing odious about it,” she writes on X.
This debate highlights the deep divides in society regarding the use of historical days for political purposes and the question of how best to honor the victims of the past while still addressing the injustices of the present.