UPDATE - Copenhagen city council approves Palestine Square after heated debate

UPDATES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Ebad Ahmed

COPENHAGEN (AA) – Copenhagen’s city council on Thursday approved naming of a location in the Danish capital as Palestine Square, following years of debate, public broadcaster DR reported.

A majority of 29 out of 55 council members voted in favor, and the name will officially take effect on April 1.

The proposal, initially supported in August 2023 by a coalition of left-wing parties, had been delayed due to the Israeli war in Gaza.

Ahead of the vote, thousands of emails flooded the inboxes of city officials, which some described as an organized effort to sway the decision.

The emails urged them to reject the proposal, with at least 49 of the 55 representatives targeted. Morten Melchiors of the Conservative People's Party called it a “massive attack.”

“In one hour, I received 830 emails,” Melchiors told DR News. “The City of Copenhagen’s system registered 12,253 emails in that period, causing disruption.”

Other councilors, including Christopher Rohl of the Radical Liberals and Frederik Kronborg of the Red-Green Alliance, also reported inboxes flooded with identical messages, many from foreign addresses. Rohl estimated he received 650 emails, while Kronborg counted over 900.

“There’s a difference between citizen engagement and an orchestrated effort to drown political discourse,” Rohl said, adding that the messages did not change his stance.

Kronborg expressed concern about interference, saying: “This disrupts political work. It appears to be an attempt to undermine our decision-making.”

While the origins remain unclear, officials noted emails with Hebrew and American names, suggesting possible external influence. Despite the influx, supporters of the Palestine Square proposal remained resolute ahead of the vote.