Jewish Tourist Facing German Police Investigation After Defending Himself During Antisemitic Assault
Pro-Hamas demonstrators marching in Munich, Germany. Photo: Reuters/Alexander Pohl
A Jewish tourist from Mexico who suffered an antisemitic attack in the German city of Munich is himself under police investigation for assault after two of the men who struck him sustained minor injuries during their altercation.
“What else should I have done?” the 30-year-old man, who has not been named, told broadcaster BR24 when asked about the incident.
The attack took place last Thursday night as the man, who wears a kippah, was leaving a local bar. While he was speaking to a Jewish friend in a video call, six men confronted him.
He said that the men had “approached when I was on the video call because they saw me with my kippah. At first I didn’t really notice them; I was still talking.”
He said that the group blocked his path and aggressively asked him where he was from and if he was Jewish.
“The next thing I know is that they beat me up on the sidewalk, [punching me] in the face and ribs,” he said. He added that he had attempted to flee his attackers. According to BR24, the man’s face was covered in scratches and dried blood as a result of the beating. A passerby who witnessed the attack came to the man’s aid, calling the emergency services who took him to a local hospital for treatment.
According to the Munich police, the man’s attackers were a mix of German, Syrian, Eritrean, and Yemeni citizens. Munich Chief Prosecutor Sebastian Murer told BR24 that even though the police investigation was still underway, “it can be assumed that a large part of this act — which includes publicly approving Hamas terror — are based upon antisemitic motives.”
According to the prosecutor’s office, 119 antisemitic acts related to the renewed conflict between Israel and Hamas have been recorded in Munich since the Islamist terror group’s Oct. 7 pogrom in southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were murdered and over 200 seized as hostages.
Dominik Krause, the mayor of Munich who belongs to the left-wing Green Party, said in a statement that both the attack on the Jewish tourist “and the antisemitic mood of the past few weeks have really shaken me deeply.”
“I think it is right that Bavaria’s antisemitism officer has now taken over the investigation in the event of an attack on the tourist, and we as the state capital of Munich will definitely continue to do everything to ensure that Jews can move freely and safely in Munich,” Krause added.
The Jewish tourist, who was visiting Germany on an eight-week trip to Munich and its surrounding area, remained defiant.
“I won’t hide who I am,” he declared. “If a Muslim woman can wear a headscarf, then a Jewish man can wear a kippah. This is Germany, and Germany should be safe for everyone.”
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