Heavy setback for musician Gil Ofarim (39): After about six months of allegations of anti-Semitism against the German musician, the Prosecutor’s Office in Leipzig brought charges of false suspicion and defamation of the artist. This was announced by the attorney general’s office on Thursday.
Extensive investigations revealed that the alleged incident of anti-Semitism in a hotel in eastern Germany did not occur as Ofrim described it in a video clip. The initial investigation against a hotel employee has been discontinued. Ofrim’s management was asked to comment on the artist.
Sue a musician for defaming a hotel owner
Ofrim recorded the video in front of the hotel in early October 2021 and said a hotel employee had asked him to take off his Star of David contract. The video went viral and sparked many expressions of solidarity. “Pack your star” – with this sentence the receptionist is said to have been insulted by an anti-Semite.
Rejected because of the Star of David: Musician Gil Ofarim “Silent”(01:57)
Ofrim later filed a complaint, but the aggrieved hotel employee also defended himself and in turn reported the musician for defamation. The Public Prosecution Office came to the conclusion “in general” that the event, as described by Ofrim, did not take place. The musician told a lie. For this reason, the preliminary investigation into the charge of insult, attempted coercion, hate speech and false suspicion against the hotel employee has been discontinued.
Merir: Now Ofrim must hold himself accountable in court. He is accused not only of making false statements about the course of the crime during police interrogation in October, but also of openly reporting the employee due to false statements. The Leipzig Regional Court must now decide whether to allow the charges and whether to open the main proceedings. (CHS/SDA)
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