After a 19-year-old Israeli tourist claimed that three men attacked him in Berlin, police announced on Sunday that they were looking into the possibility of an antisemitic motive.
After the tourist sustained minor injuries to one of his arms and his face on Saturday night, Berlin police said their state protection agency, which is in charge of looking into crimes with political motivation, was looking into the situation.
The Israeli tourist informed police that he was conversing on his phone in Hebrew while walking along a street in the Kreuzberg neighborhood of the city with an 18-year-old woman.
Three males stepped out of a car that had pulled up next to them and began speaking to the Israeli man in German; the Israeli said to the police that he did not understand because he does not speak German.
The Israeli guy then informed authorities that one of the men suddenly started beating him, which caused him to fall to the ground.
The Israeli guy informed authorities that the three attackers kept beating and kicking him after that.
The three attackers re-entered their vehicle, and the driver sped off. The young lady suffered no injuries. The Israeli man then went to a hospital and called the police there.
In Germany, antisemitic events are frequent.
The Department for Research and Information on Anti-Semitism, or RIAS, stated in its most recent annual report that it recorded 2,480 instances across the nation last year, or just under seven incidences on average each day.
They include violent incidents like the shooting last November at the home of a former rabbi near a historic synagogue in the western city of Essen.
However, according to Benjamin Steinitz, the chairman of RIAS, they also encompass “everyday situations” at work, home, on public transportation, and at supermarkets.
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