Israeli tourist, 19, attacked in Berlin in possible antisemitic incident
Yonatan Yisraeli says he was speaking on the phone in Hebrew when car stopped and 3 men brutally attacked him in front of his girlfriend, leading to his hospitalization
An Israeli tourist was attacked by three men in Berlin on Saturday evening, with German media reporting Sunday that the police were looking into a possible antisemitic motive.
Yonatan Yisraeli, 19, told the Kan public broadcaster on Sunday that he was walking to the supermarket in the city’s Kreuzberg district with a good friend, “and suddenly a car pulled up beside us.”
Yisraeli said that the passengers asked them something in German, and they responded in English that they were not from Berlin. “Suddenly, two seconds later they started hitting us, hitting me,” he recounted. “I fell on the floor, I didn’t understand what was happening,” he added.
“I think that they were Arab, but I couldn’t say for sure,” he added. “When they were done they got in the car and blasted music that I think was in Arabic.”
Yisraeli said he believes that they were singled out for attack because the pair were speaking Hebrew on the phone.
“I think that it is connected,” he said. “We were speaking in Hebrew, not quietly.”
Yisraeli was taken to a nearby hospital with light injuries to his arm and face, and the couple then alerted police.
Police and prosecutors were cited as saying an investigation had been launched for assault, with a possible antisemitic motive.
Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor reacted on X — formerly known as Twitter — saying the attack was “unacceptable.”
“Israelis and Jews should not feel unsafe walking the streets of Berlin or any other German city,” he added. “German authorities must take all measures possible to stop the attacks and incitement against Israel and Jews before it is too late.”
Germany’s envoy to Israel, Steffen Seibert, tweeted that the incident was “disgusting” and expressed hope that “these thugs will get caught.”
“It’s unbearable that something like this can happen to a young Jew in Berlin,” Seibert added.
