The musician Gil Ofarim accuses a hotel employee of having insulted him anti-Semitically.
An investigation report now brings new knowledge.
Leipzig - The incident, which society in Germany has been discussing since then, was more than three weeks ago.
On October 5th, the musician Gil Ofarim uploaded a video to Instagram in which he reported on an incident at the Westin Hotel in Leipzig under the title “Anti-Semitism in Germany”.
An employee of the hotel told him that he could only check in if he took off his Star of David necklace.
Previously, an unknown third party in the lobby should also have asked the singer to remove his chain.
GIl Ofarim: What happened in the hotel lobby - first investigation report prepared
The 39-year-old received many supportive reactions to his video statement, high-ranking politicians in Germany clearly positioned themselves against anti-Semitism and a boycott of the Leipzig hotel was called on the social networks. The hotel manager, whom Ofarim accuses of being anti-Semitic, defends himself against the allegations, which means that what happened in Leipzig on October 5th is now a case for the Leipzig public prosecutor's office.
The
time
were available first determination results for the incident on Wednesday.
However, these did not come from the public prosecutor's office, but from the private law firm Pauka & Link, which had carried out its own investigations on behalf of the hotel operators.
According to the weekly newspaper, the contents of the 118-page long report by the investigators on the events in the hotel lobby are available.
Investigation report: Witnesses contradict Ofarim's accounts
For the report, the law firm analyzed the surveillance camera recordings, interviewed witnesses themselves and had access to the prosecutor's interrogation protocols from eyewitnesses who only wanted to speak to the investigative authorities. In the report on the incident, it should be noted that none of the interviewed witnesses from the hotel lobby should have heard an anti-Semitic insult against Ofarim.
There should therefore also be doubts about Ofarim's description that he was attacked because of the Star of David chain that he is said to have worn around his neck.
None of the interviewed witnesses should be able to recall a testimony about a chain.
One witness is said to have at least stated that he might have seen the chain.
In the run-up to the report, there were allegations against Ofarim, with a view to the published camera recordings, that he did not openly wear the chain in question.
Ofarim: Expert opinion shows that there is a high probability that camera recordings were not manipulated
The 39-year-old then stated that he did not remember whether he had actually worn the chain openly in the hotel lobby. For the musician, however, it was also conceivable that he was recognized by someone who knew that he wore the necklace regularly. “I had my star on. I always have my star with me. I wore it on a TV show an hour earlier and I don't see any reason why I should take it off, ”Ofarim said in an interview with sternTV.
According to the
Zeit
, the
report of the law firm should
also contain an expert opinion from which it emerges that the recordings of the surveillance camera "almost certainly not have been manipulated".
According to their own statements, the lawyers also wanted to interview Ofarim in their investigation.
The 39-year-old is said to have rejected this request.
Causa Gil Ofarim: The prosecution's investigation into the hotel incident is ongoing
The musician last reported on the incident and the related allegations against him on October 12th on Instagram. "I gave my testimony today and filed a criminal complaint against the employee of the Westin Hotel," said the 39-year-old. “In the last few days I have said everything I can say on the subject in numerous interviews. I can't say or do more at the moment, ”Ofarim continues.
The 39-year-old has also not responded to the investigation report.
For further information it is now necessary to wait for the results of the investigations by the Leipzig public prosecutor's office.
The hotel operators announced last Wednesday that they wanted to lift the leave of absence of the employee who Ofarim accuses of making anti-Semitic statements.
The reason for this is the lack of “objective evidence” that would justify labor law measures against the employee.
(fd)
