An Israeli tourist was attacked in Berlin, Germany Saturday night after a group of individuals overheard him speaking Hebrew on the phone, according to his statement to police. The assault took place around 10:15 PM in the Kreuzberg district, a popular nightlife area of the city over the weekend.
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The Foreign Ministry reported that "the matter is known and being handled by the Israeli Embassy in Germany. We are in contact with the citizen and waiting for the results of the investigation."
According to the victim, 19-year-old Jonathan Israeli, he was walking down the street with his 18-year-old girlfriend when suddenly a car pulled up beside them, and three of the four vehicle occupants got out and approached him. One of the occupants addressed Israeli in German, but he did not respond since he doesn't speak the language.
At this point, as per his account, one of the men hit him and knocked him to the ground, and the other two also kicked him before getting back into their vehicle and fleeing the scene.
Israeli and his girlfriend, who was unharmed, went to the hospital, and from there they contacted the police. As the attack is suspected to be of antisemitic nature, the investigation was handed over to the unit that handles politically motivated crimes within the Berlin police.
According to the police, Israeli told investigators that the three attackers, who seemingly spoke Arabic, were between the ages of 20 and 30.
The hospital reported that the young man was treated and luckily suffered only minor injuries.
According to data collected by the Center for Research and Information on Anti-Semitism in Germany, in 2022, there were more than 2,400 antisemitic attacks, with 9 of them categorized as extreme violence.