Serious allegations: Gil Ofarim rejected because of Star of David in Leipzig hotel – Leipzig

Leipzig – Gil Ofarim (39) sits with tears in his eyes in front of the entrance to the hotel “The Westin” in Leipzig. He was in the Saxony metropolis for the shooting of an MDR program. But what he apparently had to find out in the luxury hotel on Monday evening stunned. In an Instagram video, the singer explains that he has just been discriminated against because of the Star of David on his necklace.

“I’m speechless right now,” says the musician and son of the Israeli music legend Abi Ofarim († 2018), describing the situation. There was a huge queue at reception because the computer wasn’t working. “It can happen, anything is fine,” emphasizes Ofarim.

He too had been queued on Monday evening, but others had been admitted time and again. Allegedly to straighten the queue, so the reason given by the hotel employee – whom Ofarim calls “Mr. W.”.

“And someone from the corner calls out: ‘Pack your star’. And then Mr W says: ‘Pack your star.’ When the employee said that he was not there, the musician left the hotel in dismay.

In his video, Ofarim holds the Star of David chain in the camera and asks close to tears: “Really? Germany 2021. “

The hotel “The Westin” in LeipzigPhoto: picture alliance / imageBROKER

When asked by BILD, his manager Yvonne Probst replied that she immediately placed him in another hotel. In the meantime he is no longer in Leipzig. “Gil lets that sink in for the time being and is still shocked by this incident.” They are also considering filing a criminal complaint.

The hotel management of “The Westin” has not yet responded to a BILD request. A spokesman told the dpa news agency that they were very concerned about the report and that they were taking the matter extremely seriously. The company is trying to contact Ofarim to find out what happened.

“The anti-Semitic hostility that Gil Ofarim obviously experienced in Leipzig is terrifying. That is the everyday anti-Semitism to which Jews are repeatedly exposed, ”said the President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster (67), on Tuesday. Schuster made a similar statement on Twitter.

“Where were the other people in the queue in front of the reception who stood by Gil Ofarim’s side? Why did no one protest? Just as it is to be hoped that the hotel will take personnel consequences, I also hope that in the future we will meet with solidarity when we are attacked. “

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