Jewish man attacked while riding in a city tram in central Germany – over his Star of David necklace.
By World Israel News Staff
A Jewish man was assaulted in Germany last week over a piece of jewelry which reflected his Jewish identity.
On Friday, at approximately 6:35 a.m., a 24-year-old man riding on a tram in the city of Erfut in the central German state of Thuringia was confronted by a fellow passenger, a man in his 30s.
The incident occurred after the other passenger boarded the tram at the Klinikum Erfurt stop and saw the victim was wearing a Star of David necklace.
During the confrontation, the assailant tried to drag the victim off of the tram.
After he failed, the assailant kicked and punched the victim repeatedly.
Shortly thereafter, the suspect exited the tram, with the victim getting off at a later stop.
However, the assailant confronted the victim again at the Europaplatz stop, where the Jewish man had exited the tram.
The suspect threatened the victim, then left the scene on foot.
A formal criminal complaint was filed in the matter, and local police are reportedly investigating the attack as an antisemitic hate crime.
Local authorities condemned the incident, denouncing it as an “obviously antisemitic attack.”
“The state government condemns the obviously antisemitic attack on a young man in Erfurt this morning in the strongest possible terms,” the Thuringian State Chancellery said.
Michael Panse, the antisemitism czar for Thuringia, said police were “extremely sensitized and committed to” the issue of antisemitism.
“However, it remains a particular task for society to keep advocating that our Jewish fellow citizens can live in Thuringia without fear.”
“The fact that insults and threats are now turning into physical attacks demands that we all make an even stronger commitment and active commitment to the protection of our Jewish fellow citizens.”
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