How expensive will the Star of David lie be for Gil Ofarim (41)?
After his confession, the Leipzig regional court wants to stop the defamation case against the Jewish singer in exchange for a fine of 10,000 euros. A further up to 20,000 euros in compensation will go to the hotel manager Markus W. (35), whom he accused of anti-Semitism. In addition, legal fees and probably also procedural costs totaling around 130,000 euros will be due.
Not included in this invoice: the damage suffered by the Leipzig hotel “The Westin” due to the made up accusations suffered. And it is immense!
The luxury hotel “The Westin” received threatening calls for weeks and had to record numerous cancellations
Immediately after Ofarim published his video on Instagram on October 5, 2021, which was later viewed millions of times, and claimed that he was not allowed to check in because of his Star of David necklace, the number of cancellations shot up to a catastrophic level for the luxury hotel. Negative comments and even open hostility were piling up on hotel review platforms, including Google.
Financial damage runs into the millions
As BILD learned, this not only affected the “Westin” in Leipzig, but also the brand’s hotels worldwide. Even hostels with a similar name, such as the neighboring “Best Western”, suddenly had to deal with telephone terror – and plummeting booking numbers.
According to insider information, the total financial damage is said to be in the millions! Accordingly, the “Westin” in Leipzig alone missed out on several hundred thousand euros.
Ofarim not only referred to his Star of David, but also to the hotel name several times in his video
When around 400 people gathered in front of the hotel entrance the evening after the alleged Star of David scandal, the management acted immediately – and joined the demonstration against anti-Semitism. General Manager Andreas Hachmeister (60) fought back vehemently, telling BILD: “No one is discriminated against in our company!”
The damage to the image and the threatening calls remained. Receptionist Markus W. had to go into hiding for ten days, even received a death threat. A colleague in court: “The phone rang so often that sometimes we just hung up.”
It wasn’t until two weeks later that the situation calmed down for the time being. Images from the hotel’s surveillance videos emerged. There is no Star of David on it, which was also proven by the analysis of the court-appointed expert, Professor Dirk Labudde (57).
So far, the hotel “The Westin” has reserved its right to file a civil lawsuit for damages Gil Ofarim before. Will this happen now after the confession?
When asked by BILD, the hotel management said that no statement was currently being made on the matter.