Trial in Leipzig
Former manager claims to have advised Gil Ofarim not to make the hotel incident public
Musician Gil Ofarim in the courtroom in Leipzig
© Hendrik Schmidt / DPA
Day five in the trial against musician Gil Ofarim. The artist’s former manager is now speaking out in court. She claims to have advised him not to make the incident in the Leipzig hotel public.
In the trial against the Jewish musician Gil Ofarim for defamation and false suspicions, the former manager described the artist as a very polite person. He wasn’t the type for airs and graces, was always friendly and held doors open, “the old school type,” said the 45-year-old in the Leipzig regional court on Thursday.
At the beginning of October 2021, the musician made serious allegations of anti-Semitism against the manager of a Leipzig hotel in an Instagram video. Ofarim should take off his Star of David and only then could he check in, the man is said to have said, according to the singer. However, after extensive investigations by the public prosecutor’s office, charges were brought against Ofarim himself. The case against the hotel manager was dropped.
Former manager describes Gil Ofarim as a very polite person
Unlike many other artists, Gil Ofarim’s order situation was very good even during the Corona period and before the incident, said the manager. “We did a lot of TV shows, the calendar was full, we were busy,” emphasized the 45-year-old. In addition, his autobiography, published a few months earlier, was on the bestseller list. After the incident, the order situation went “almost to zero,” said the ex-manager.
Ofarim called her from the hotel at the time and said that he had been insulted with anti-Semitic slurs and couldn’t check in. She also advised him not to make the situation public and to “clarify it internally.” “But artists have to decide for themselves what they do.” But she has no doubts about the veracity of Ofarim’s information. She took over management of Ofarim in 2013 and resigned in mid-2022.
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More witnesses were called on Thursday. In addition, the comments from a digital forensic expert should be continued. It is also about the behavior of those involved in the hotel lobby.