After media reports have raised doubts as to whether the singer Gil Ofarim was wearing his necklace with a Star of David pendant on the day he was allegedly insulted in an anti-Seimist manner in a Leipzig hotel, the artist defends himself. The incident happened as seen in the Instagram video uploaded on October 5, Ofarim told Spiegel magazine. “I had the chain on all the time. I don't understand why there is now a debate about whether I was wearing the necklace or not, ”Ofarim said about the piece of jewelry that his father gave him at the bar mitzvah.

Suddenly it was no longer about anti-Semitism, criticized Ofarim.

“I am now supposed to prove that I was wearing the star.” It is unclear whether someone actually saw Ofarim's Star of David necklace in the hotel on the day of the incident.

According to him, that's not the point.

He also thinks it is conceivable that the insults occurred because he regularly shows himself in public with the chain.

Ofarim told the mirror: “I always wear the star.” Regarding reports citing investigations that he could not remember when he was interrogated whether he wore the necklace, Ofarim said: “That is not true.

I had the chain on all the time. "

Video is part of the ongoing investigation

The newspaper Bild and the Leipziger Volkszeitung had previously reported that the surveillance videos may raise questions about the events described and also refer to investigators.

Accordingly, Ofarim's chain with the Star of David should not have been clearly visible on the videos.

"What exactly can be seen in the video is part of the ongoing investigation," said a police spokeswoman for the Leipzig police headquarters on request.

Bild am Sonntag quoted the singer as follows: “The sentence that came up came from behind.

That means someone recognized me.

This is not about the chain.

It's actually about something much bigger.

Since I can often be seen on TV with the Star of David, I was insulted because of it. "

Ofarim reported in a video published on Instagram almost two weeks ago that other guests had been checked in before him at the reception.

When asked why these were brought forward, he is said to have been asked to pack his star.

In the video, Ofarim wears a silver chain with a visible Star of David around his neck.

Several advertisements at the public prosecutor's office in Leipzig

Ofarim's release of the video caused quite a stir.

There were demonstrations in front of the hotel.

The Leipzig public prosecutor's office has now received several reports of the incident, including from the hotel employee accused of defamation.

According to earlier statements, he describes the events differently than the artist.

Ofarim announced on Instagram on Tuesday that he had filed a complaint.

The Leipzig hotel itself also fought against the anti-Semitism allegations and launched its own investigations.

It hired a law firm to investigate what was going on and wants to evaluate testimony from other guests.

The company also reported a witness from the hotel lobby who did not confirm the musician's version to him.

Two employees were on leave for the duration of the investigation.

Ofarim is the son of the Israeli musician Abi Ofarim (1937-2018) and was born and raised in Germany.

He is known as an actor and singer, in 2017 he won the RTL dance show "Let's Dance".