Status: 09.11.2023, 19:09 PM
By: Patrick Mayer, Bjarne Kommnick
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Anti-Semitism or slander? The trial against Gil Ofarim has started. The musician has to answer to the Leipzig Regional Court.
- Trial against Gil Ofarim: The trial begins on Tuesday (7 November) in Leipzig. There is slander and false suspicion in the room.
- Ofarim makes accusations of anti-Semitism: An employee of a hotel is said to have discriminated against him on the basis of his religion in October.
- Judge rejects accusations: The defendant had wrongly portrayed the employee of the hotel as an anti-Semite.
Update from November 7, 17:30 p.m.: The hotel manager has spoken out in the defamation trial against Gil Ofarim. He is the first witness to describe the course of events that took place two years ago. He felt threatened by Ofarim's appearance, said the employee of the Leipzig hotel on Tuesday afternoon in front of the district court in Leipzig. He had received death threats after the musician's accusation of anti-Semitism in the Instagram video, had to go into hiding for a few days and has been in psychiatric treatment since then.
Update from November 7, 14:44 p.m.: After a long break, according to Focus, the taking of evidence continues before the district court in Leipzig. Accordingly, first with the mobile phone video that Gil Ofarim posted on Instagram.
Update from November 7, 14:40 p.m.: Ten days of hearings are scheduled for the trial against Gil Ofarim at the Regional Court of Leipzig. 30 witnesses have been summoned and are to be examined. Among them is the digital forensic expert Dirk Labudde, who has evaluated the recordings of the surveillance camera, reports the Leipziger Volkszeitung.
Update from November 7, 13 p.m.: The musician Gil Ofarim is sitting in the dock before the district court in Leipzig. But the start of the trial will probably be different from what was originally planned. After a break, the hearing will now continue at 14:30 p.m., according to Focus. Accordingly, Ofarim then wants to comment on the allegations himself.
In the afternoon, the affected hotel employee was supposed to be questioned as a witness, reports the dpa news agency. The court has scheduled ten days of hearings until 7 December.
Start of trial in Leipzig: Testimony of Gil Ofarim postponed
Update from 7 November, 12 noon: The hearing before the regional court in Leipzig is to continue at 12.30 p.m. after an early lunch break, reports Focus. Then Gil Ofarim's statement should be read out. The defense also lacked documents. According to the presiding judge, these files should be copied and scanned.
"Big lies spread": Ofarim defense attorney launches frontal attack in trial
Update from November 7, 11:23 a.m.: As Focus reports, the 41-year-old wants to read out a statement today. But before that, his defense attorney attacks the media, which is said to have "spread big lies". One of them was that the singer didn't even wear his necklace at check-in. Video recordings would not have been able to prove the facts. He described the hotel's investigation as a PR ploy. The latter also spread the word that Ofarim had only staged the incident. "By the way, you could read that several times in the media," said the defender, according to Focus.
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Update from November 7, 2023, 9:59 a.m.: At the start of the trial against the Jewish musician Gil Ofarim, the indictment was read out on Tuesday before the Leipzig Regional Court. In it, the public prosecutor's office accuses the 41-year-old, among other things, of false suspicion and defamation.
According to the indictment, the musician had described more than two years ago in a viral video that an employee of a Leipzig hotel had asked him to take off his necklace with the Star of David so that he could check in. Previously, the musician had complained about the preferential treatment of guests who would have been standing behind him in the queue. "This is not true," said prosecutor Andras Ricken. The defendant had wrongly portrayed the employee as an anti-Semite. According to the prosecution, the Star of David under the musician's shirt was not visible at all when he checked in. It was only during the video recording that Ofarim made the star visible. Ofarim wore the Star of David necklace at the start of the trial on Tuesday, reports Focus Online. Press photos at the start of the trial show such a chain.
At the start of the trial in Leipzig, Gil Ofarim wears a Star of David necklace, as can be seen in press photos. © IMAGO/STAR-MEDIA
Update from November 7, 2023, 9:40 a.m.: At the start of the trial against the Jewish musician Gil Ofarim for false suspicions and defamation, there is a large media rush. The first journalists gathered in front of the district court at 5:15 a.m. on Tuesday. The trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Ofarim will receive personal protection from plainclothes police officers and officers in uniform, according to Bild, among others. The singer's lawyer had previously expressed security concerns due to the Israeli war. Spectator seats for the trial have already been reduced.
Trial of Gil Ofarim begins
First reported on November 6, 2023: Leipzig – On Tuesday, November 7, the trial against musician Gil Ofarim will begin at the Leipzig Regional Court. The 41-year-old Munich resident is on trial on suspicion of false suspicion and defamation. Saxony's Prime Minister also spoke out on the case.
In October 2021, Ofarim made accusations of anti-Semitism against an employee of a Leipzig hotel in a self-published video on social media. The defendant denies these allegations. A report from a law firm says that there is nothing to Ofarim's accusations.
After accusations against hotel: Gil Ofarim insists on first presentation
Shortly before the trial began, Ofarim reiterated his allegations. He insists on his account that he was allegedly insulted in an anti-Semitic manner at the hotel because of a necklace he wore with a Star of David. At first, he was ignored in a queue at the reception. Then the employee allegedly asked him to take off the necklace with the Star of David. Only then would he be able to check in, he claimed.
Gil Ofarim claimed to have been subjected to anti-Semitic insults in a hotel. Because doubts arose about this version, he has to answer for false suspicion and defamation. However, the singer continues to assert his innocence. © IMAGO / STL
Ofarim is of Jewish faith and the son of the famous Israeli singer Abi Ofarim (1937 to 2018). The Leipzig public prosecutor's office had charged him with defamation and false suspicion in April 2022. According to the prosecution, the incident did not occur as portrayed by Ofarim. Due to the special significance and public impact of the case, the public prosecutor's office decided to file charges with the district court.
'Just shocked': Gil Ofarim talks about alleged anti-Semitism incident
Ofarim is the lead singer of the bands "Zoo Army" and "Eight" and also works as an actor, musical performer, voice actor and radio presenter. His participation in the show "The Voice of Germany" in 2012 made him known to a wider audience in Germany.
"I know what happened to me. It wasn't about the employee, it was about anti-Semitism. I'm glad that a lot will now come out that hasn't been said or written before," he told Welt am Sonntag about the alleged incident in Leipzig. "I didn't even begin to anticipate what this video would trigger. I think you can see in the video that I was just shocked," he added: "I've had a lot of experience with anti-Semitic slogans, but not in a hotel like this."