Ofarim trial: hotel employee felt threatened
In the defamation trial against Gil Ofarim, the hotel employee who accused the Jewish musician of anti-Semitism has spoken out about the incident. He felt threatened by Ofarim's appearance, said the employee of the Leipzig hotel on Tuesday afternoon before the district court in Leipzig. In his statement, he did not initially mention the Star of David, which Ofarim claimed was the reason why he could not check into the hotel.
According to the 35-year-old man, there was a delay at reception that evening in October 2021 due to technical problems. Ofarim had called the hotel a "shitty place" because other guests had allegedly been given preferential treatment, the employee said. He asked Ofarim to apologize and refused to let him check in. Ofarim left the reception after the argument and made a phone call.
Later that evening, Ofarim published a video in which he accused the employee of anti-Semitism. According to the musician's account, he was asked to remove his chain with the Star of David so that he could check in.
The public prosecutor's office is accusing the 41-year-old musician of false accusation and defamation, among other things. The case against the hotel employee was dropped after extensive investigations.
After the incident at the reception, some people expressed concern about the escalating situation. Despite the allegations of anti-Semitism, the hotel employee stated that music was playing in the background throughout the process.
Source: www.dpa.com
