This Tuesday in Berlin there was apparently an anti-Semitic attack on the state rabbi of the state of Brandenburg and community rabbi of the Potsdam Jewish Community, Ariel Kirzon. In a telephone conversation with FOCUS online, Kirzon, who was born in Ukraine, reported that he was on his way to the Westphalweg underground station in the Mariendorf district of Tempelhof-Schöneberg together with his 13-year-old son at around 10:26 am.
While he was talking on the phone to the Israeli embassy in Hebrew, a “dark-skinned young man” insulted him and briefly grabbed his shoulder. At the same time, the man allegedly shouted “horrible fucking Jew”. Ariel Kirzon was clearly recognisable as a Jew by his clothing.
Kirzon told FOCUS Online that he had been engrossed in his phone call during the incident and did not immediately react to the attack. “Maybe it’s better not to talk to people like that”. His son had overheard everything, he said. The state rabbi hopes that the video surveillance around the underground station on line 6 will help to clarify the situation.
Ariel Kirzon filed a complaint with the Berlin police for assault and insult. According to FOCUS online, the investigation is being conducted under case number 220913-1356-034773. In the early evening, the Berlin police confirmed that they were investigating the incident: “Since it cannot be ruled out that the suspect could have entered the area of the station, the video recordings of the station were secured. The investigation is being carried out by the Police State Protection Service at the State Criminal Police Office.”