As of: February 6, 2024, 10:15 a.m
By: Karolin Schaefer
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In Berlin, a Jewish student is beaten to the point of hospitalization - presumably by a fellow student.
His brother already feared such an escalation.
Berlin – Since the Hamas attack on Israel, anti-Semitic incidents have been increasing in Germany.
An anti-Semitic attack is currently also suspected in Berlin-Mitte.
Lahav Shapira, brother of satirist Shahak Shapira, was brutally attacked on Saturday night (February 3).
The 30-year-old student at the Free University of Berlin was taken to hospital with serious injuries and had to undergo surgery.
Jewish student attacked in Berlin: anti-Semitism suspected as a motive
According to previous investigations, the student of Jewish faith, who, according to the police, represents pro-Israel views on social media, is said to have met a 23-year-old pro-Palestinian fellow student on Brunnenstrasse.
Initially, a “dispute” developed, the police reported in a statement.
A little later, the 23-year-old is said to have punched Lahav Shapira several times in the face, causing him to fall.
When he was lying on the ground, the fellow student is said to have kicked him and finally fled.
The suspected perpetrator was caught shortly afterwards at his home address.
State security is now investigating a possible political motive, a police spokeswoman told the
German Press Agency (dpa)
.
The Jewish Student Union of Germany (JSUD) demonstrates at Fridays for Israel in front of the Free University in Berlin.
A student of Jewish faith was attacked.
© Emmanuele Contini/imago
“He suddenly gave me a punch from the side, and then another,” the victim told Israeli broadcaster
N12
.
“Then I lost my balance.
I tried to get up and then he kicked me in the face.” He then fled.
“Almost inevitable”: Brother Shahak Shapir feared escalation
His brother and satirist, Shahak Shapira, also commented on the incident.
There was “no political debate at all,” he said on the short message service X (formerly Twitter).
“He was recognized by the attacker in the bar, who followed him and his companion, spoke to them aggressively and then punched him in the face unannounced.”
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Shahak Shapira had already “feared” such an attack on his brother.
"Given the way he has been defamed and 'marked' on the Internet in recent months for his fair or unjust resistance in the FU, this consequence was almost unavoidable," he wrote on X. How the attacker describes the incident, is currently unknown.
“On my advice, the accused will not comment on matters relevant to the proceedings,” said his defense attorney Ehssan Khazaeli in response to a
dpa
query.
The federal government's anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, called for the background to be clarified in detail.
“If the previous indications are confirmed and the attack is based on anti-Semitic motives, then the perpetrator must face the full force of the law,” he told the
editorial network Germany
.
“Vicious attack” in Berlin: University announces consequences for suspected perpetrators
“This vile attack leaves me stunned,” wrote Berlin Prime Minister Kai Wegner on X, who is currently on a business trip to Israel.
“Jewish people must feel safe everywhere in Berlin – including at our universities!” The Free University condemned the allegedly anti-Semitic attack on the Jewish student and announced consequences.
“If it is confirmed that the perpetrator is a student at the Free University of Berlin, the university will immediately examine possible legal steps within the framework of house rules and, if necessary, enforce a ban on the house,” it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Jewish Student Union of Germany (JSUD) criticized the university's handling of “anti-Jewish riots” in an open letter.
Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, there have been repeated anti-Semitic incidents in Germany.
There was also horror in Frankfurt after an anti-Semitic attack.
(kas/dpa)