Videos raise questions
Anti-Semitism allegations against Hotel: Police apparently have doubts about Gil Ofarim’s version
The statement by musician Gil Ofarim is said to be questioned by the Leipzig police
© Gerald Matzka / DPA
At the beginning of the month, Gil Ofarim described how he had been anti-Semitic in a hotel in Leipzig because of his Star of David chain. Now videos apparently show that the musician did not even wear the chain there.
Because of his Star of David chain, Gil Ofarim is said to have been attacked anti-Semitically on October 4 in the Westin Hotel in Leipzig. “Pack the star,” an employee is said to have said to him. Then he can check in. At least that is what the musician claimed in a short video on social networks the day after the alleged crime. About a week later, he filed a criminal complaint against the hotel employee.
But now the Leipzig police apparently have “serious doubts” about Ofarim’s version of the events. This is reported by “Bild am Sonntag” and shows footage from the surveillance cameras of the Westin hotels. There is no chain around Ofarim’s neck on it as he enters the hotel, speaks to someone at the front desk, and as he leaves the Westin. The musician wears an open leather jacket with a T-shirt underneath. According to the BamS report, Ofarim is said to have stated in an interrogation to the police that he did not know exactly whether he had worn the chain with the large, silver Star of David openly that evening in Leipzig or not. The “Leipziger Volkszeitung” also reports on the surveillance images and possible doubts from the police.
on starInquiries, no one could be reached on Sunday at the Leipzig police and public prosecutor who could comment on the case.
Gil Ofarim: “This is not about the chain”
In the Instagram video that Ofarim recorded that evening directly in front of the hotel and which has meanwhile been viewed a million times, the musician wears the chain around his neck and reports on the events that should have happened shortly before: “I’m standing here with my chain. I’m entitled to it, “says Ofarim there. Then he describes how he complained after a while because several guests in the queue had been preferred to him. Then first “someone from the corner” and then the receptionist told him to “pack the star”.
In relation to the “BamS”, Ofarim sticks to his descriptions. The sentence was said by someone who stood behind him. “That means someone recognized me.” And further: “It’s not about the chain. It’s actually about something much bigger. Since I am often seen on TV with the Star of David, I was insulted because of it,” says the singer. He had worn the necklace shortly beforehand at a TV appearance and normally “almost never” takes it off. “But it’s not about whether the chain was seen in the hotel or not. It’s about the fact that I was insulted in an anti-Semitic way.”
The accused employee also filed a complaint a few days after the incident. He accuses Ofarim of defamation and, according to earlier statements by the police, describes the events of the evening in a significantly different way.