A 24-year-old Jewish man was brutally assaulted in the German city of Erfurt on Friday morning after a man noticed he was wearing a Star of David necklace, police said.
The attacker, whose identity remains unknown, boarded Line 3 of the city’s tram service around 6:30 a.m. at the “Klinikum Erfurt” station. Upon spotting the necklace, he tried to drag the victim off the tram and kicked him several times.
The assault did not end there. The suspect got off at the “Straße der Nationen” stop, while the victim disembarked at “Europaplatz.” The two encountered each other again, and the attacker threatened the young man before fleeing.
Police launched a search but have not yet located the suspect. Surveillance camera footage from the tram is being reviewed as part of the investigation. A police spokesperson told German media that the incident is classified as a “politically motivated crime.”
German daily Bild published a description of the suspect: about 30 years old, with a German appearance, short blond hair, and approximately 185 cm tall.
The attack comes amid rising concern over antisemitic violence in Germany. Just last month, a federal police report (BKA) recorded 1,047 antisemitic crimes nationwide between January and March, including 27 violent assaults and 422 cases of incitement to hatred.
According to the data, crimes included property damage, threats, verbal abuse, and physical attacks—some life-threatening. By the end of June, 470 suspects had been identified, seven of whom were arrested. In one case, an arrest warrant was issued. Officials said most incidents were politically motivated and carried out mainly by far-right extremists.
The latest figures add to a troubling trend of sharp increases in antisemitic incidents in Germany, especially since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. In 2024, authorities reported 6,560 antisemitic crimes, including 1,488 violent incidents—a rise of more than 20% from the previous year.