A Jewish man was attacked by a 61-year-old man in Berlin on Saturday in a suspected antisemitic incident, Berlin Police said on Sunday.
The incident took place in Prenzlauer Berg, as the Jewish man was walking in the neighborhood with his son. Police said the suspect “spoke to him disrespectfully”, but the Jewish man continued on his way and ignored him. Later, when the man returned to use the elevator at the railway station in the area, the suspect allegedly hit him in the neck and made antisemitic comments.
Shortly after the incident, a witness directed police officers to the suspect. A breathalyzer test found that the suspect was slightly intoxicated. He was released on the spot and is being investigated on suspicion of conducting an assault with an antisemitic motive.
Latest in series of antisemitic incidents in Berlin
Earlier this month, a 19-year-old Israeli tourist named Jonathan was attacked by three men in Berlin after they heard him speaking on the phone in Hebrew, according to the German Bild news outlet.
The entrance gate to a synagogue in the district of Prenzlauer Berg is pictured in Berlin August 28, 2007 (credit: Tobias Schwarz/Reuters)According to the report, the Israeli stated that the assailants spoke to him, but he didn’t understand what they said because he doesn’t know German, and they proceeded to hit and kick him.
“When they were done with me, they drove away in their car and listened to loud Arabic music and really celebrated,” said the Israeli to Bild. “I was beaten up by Arabs because I’m Jewish!”
Jonathan was treated for a concussion at the hospital.
Berlin Police said they had opened an investigation into the incident and are treating the incident as a suspected case of dangerous bodily harm motivated by antisemitism.
“Another Israeli is brutally attacked in the German capital. This is unacceptable!” said Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor after the attack earlier this month.
Ein weiterer Israeli wird in der deutschen Hauptstadt brutal angegriffen. Das ist inakzeptabel!Israelis und Juden sollten sich in den Straßen von Berlin oder jeder anderen deutschen Stadt nicht unsicher fühlen. Die deutschen Behörden müssen jede Maßnahme ergreifen, um diese… pic.twitter.com/k1jeOQiWdj
— Ambassador Ron Prosor (@Ron_Prosor) August 6, 2023
“Israelis and Jews should not feel unsafe walking the streets of Berlin or any other German city. The German authorities must take every measure to stop these attacks and incitement against Israel and Jews before it is too late.”
Last week, a man was detained after causing a disruption and then shouting a Nazi slogan and making the Nazi salute after being asked to stop, according to Berlin Police. The man was found to be intoxicated and was later released.
Additionally, arson attacks targeted a small library at the Gleis 17 Holocaust Memorial in Berlin and a memorial for homosexual victims of the Holocaust in the city in recent weeks, with police stating last week that they had arrested a 63-year-old suspect in the case. The suspect has admitted to committing the arson.
The memorial at Gleis 17 commemorates the beginning of the deportation of Jews in Berlin to extermination camps.
“The antisemitic and homophobic arson attacks shocked and affected me,” said Berlin’s justice minister, Felor Badenberg, after the arrest. “I oppose any form of group-related enmity, including homophobia, trans or queer hostility, and antisemitism. It is the duty of the state, of civil society, and of each and every one of us not to look away when people are being discriminated against and attacked because of their faith or their sexual orientation. We all have to work together for a self-determined life and against any form of hate crime. I would like to thank the security authorities for their work and am pleased with the rapid success of the investigation.”
Antisemitic crime rate in Berlin dropped slightly in first half of 2023
Florian Hengst, the antisemitism commissioner of the Berlin Attorney General’s Office, told DPA recently that in the first half of 2023, 304 new criminal proceedings concerning antisemitic incidents were registered. While that number is slightly less than the same period in the previous two years, Hengst added that it is still unclear if antisemitic crimes are declining.
In 2022, 691 antisemitic crimes were registered with the Attorney General’s Office, with 328 registered in the first half of 2022.
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