anti-Semitism allegations
Gil Ofarim charged with defamation
Gil Ofarim could have to answer in court
© Sven Kanz/Geisler-Fotopress/ / Picture Alliance
Gil Ofarim claimed to have been subjected to anti-Semitic insults in a hotel in Leipzig. But his criminal complaint was dropped. Prosecutors are now charging him with defamation and false accusations.
The public prosecutor’s office in Leipzig has accused the musician and actor Gil Ofarim of allegations of false suspicion and defamation. The case against a Leipzig hotel employee, who was accused of anti-Semitism by Ofarim, has been discontinued, as the investigative authority announced on Thursday. Due to the great public impact of the case, the indictment was brought to the regional court and not to the district court.
The case revolves around Gil Ofarim: in early October 2021, the musician reported anti-Semitism in a Leipzig hotel in a highly acclaimed Instagram video. He was passed over at the hotel reception because of his Star of David on a necklace and insulted in anti-Semitic terms. Video footage later surfaced showing Ofarim may not have been wearing the necklace at all.
Incident should not have happened as described by Gil Ofarim
The public prosecutor’s office in Leipzig announced that extensive investigations had been carried out. Numerous witnesses were questioned and a digital forensic expert was commissioned to view and assess the secured video recordings from several surveillance cameras in the hotel area. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the events as described by Gil Ofarim in his published video did not actually happen. Since there is therefore no sufficient suspicion of criminally relevant behavior by the accused hotel employee, the investigation against him was discontinued by the public prosecutor’s office.
A defeat for Ofarim, who had always publicly stuck to his description. “That I might be turned from victim to perpetrator and that I allegedly lied, that’s why I didn’t think about it and honestly, I didn’t think that either,” he said in an interview with “Bild”.
The 39-year-old is now being accused of repeating the wrong course of events during a police interview and reporting the hotel employee against his better judgment. The Leipzig Regional Court is now deciding whether to allow the charges and whether to open the main proceedings.
Source: Public prosecutor’s office in Leipzig