The trial against musician Gil Ofarim (41) began on Tuesday in the Leipzig regional court. After the indictment was first read out by the public prosecutor in the morning, the hotel employee whom Ofarim had accused of anti-Semitism in a video in October 2021 appeared as a co-plaintiff and first witness in the afternoon. He sued Ofarim for defamation and now accused the singer of threatening him.
The man recounted the events of the evening of October 5, 2021 in the Leipzig hotel “The Westin” from his perspective. Accordingly, there was a technical malfunction at the time and Ofarim complained loudly to him about the long waiting time. The musician allegedly spoke of a “shit shop” and threatened to make his complaint go viral in an online post.
That’s why the hotel employee didn’t let him check in. Instead, he asked Ofarim to apologize and then he could check in. The musician apparently rejected that. The fact that Ofarim then accused him of anti-Semitism in a video had serious consequences for the man, including receiving death threats. He was “horrified” by what “was claimed” about him in the video. The hotel employee then reported Ofarim for defamation, which is why the musician is now in court. The plaintiff is also demanding damages of 20,000 euros. The prosecution doubts that the hotel employee asked Ofarim to take off his Star of David.
Ofarim’s defense, in turn, rejected all of the hotel employee’s allegations, as MDR reports. The plaintiff’s account of the incident is “completely implausible.” Gil Ofarim has not yet made any statement himself.
The court has set ten days until December 7th for the hearing. If convicted, the musician faces a fine up to two years in prison. A total of around 30 witnesses are said to be summoned to court.
