prosecutor’s office
Charges against Gil Ofarim for defamation
Gil Ofarim recorded a video in front of the hotel in Leipzig at the beginning of October 2021 and said that an employee had asked him to take off his chain with the Star of David. Photo: Tobias Hase/dpa
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Musician Gil Ofarim’s allegations of anti-Semitism against a hotel caused waves. The public prosecutor’s office has now completed its investigation. So it was different than what the musician says.
Half a year after the anti-Semitism allegations by the musician Gil Ofarim, the Leipzig public prosecutor’s office has brought charges – against the artist himself.
After extensive investigations, she accuses Ofarim of false suspicion and defamation, as she announced on Thursday. Accordingly, the alleged anti-Semitism incident in the Leipzig hotel “The Westin” did not happen as Ofarim had described in a video. The preliminary investigation against a hotel employee has been discontinued.
On request, Ofarim’s management said that no information could be given at the moment and asked for your understanding. The operators of the hotel reacted with relief to the result of the investigation. The Central Council of Jews warned against prejudice. Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) considers an apology appropriate.
The musician recorded the video in front of the hotel on the evening of October 4, 2021 and said that a hotel employee had asked him to take off his Star of David necklace. The next morning he posted it on Instagram. The video went viral and triggered numerous expressions of solidarity. Ofarim later filed a complaint, but the hotel employee concerned also defended himself and in turn reported the musician for defamation. Ofarim’s Instagram account could no longer be found on Thursday.
Did Ofarim tell untruth?
The public prosecutor’s office has made great efforts in recent months to clarify what happened in the hotel lobby. Numerous witnesses were questioned, and a digital forensic scientist evaluated recordings from surveillance cameras in the hotel area. “In the opinion of the public prosecutor’s office, in the overall view of the knowledge gained from this, the event as described by Gil Ofarim in his published video did not actually happen,” said the prosecution.
Instead, there is sufficient suspicion that Ofarim recorded and posted the video “with the knowledge that his statements were untrue”. “This justifies the charge of defamation and false suspicion,” said the investigating authority. He later repeated his allegations to the police. Because of the special importance of the case, the public prosecutor’s office did not bring the charges to the district court, but to the Leipzig district court. This must now decide whether the charges against the musician allow it. Ofarim is the son of the Israeli musician Abi Ofarim (1937-2018) and grew up in Germany.
Kretschmer criticizes Ofarim
The Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer criticized Gil Ofarim. This not only “discredited the employees, the hotel, the city and Saxony, but also caused damage to the Jewish community,” said the CDU politician to the German Press Agency in Dresden. “The least you can expect now is an apology – even from those who have hastily drawn their conclusions and prejudiced.”
Saxony’s Justice Minister Katja Meier (Greens) tweeted that combating anti-Semitism remains an enormously important social issue, “especially here in Saxony”. In October, Meier wrote that the “open anti-Semitism in the Hotel Westin” was unspeakable and unbearable. Now she wrote to “classify” this tweet that hasty public political assessments are out of place in such a difficult matter. At the time, she wanted to point out the need for a broad social debate to combat anti-Semitism.
The Central Council of Jews said on Thursday that they had taken note of the indictment. “Trusting our rule of law, it is important not to make any prejudices,” said President Josef Schuster. The Central Council will follow the further proceedings at the Leipzig Regional Court with interest.
According to the hotel “The Westin”, the employee accused in the video was massively threatened personally and on social media. The entire hotel team is now “extremely relieved after long weeks and months about the decision of the public prosecutor”. Manager Andreas Hachmeister explained: “I am very happy and optimistic that I can now look to the future again.”