More than five months after the sensational video by singer Gil Ofarim, in which he accused an employee of the Leipzig luxury hotel “Westin” of anti-Semitism, the case is taking a spectacular turn.

On Thursday, the Leipzig public prosecutor filed charges against Ofarim for false suspicion in two cases and for defamation.

On the other hand, the ongoing investigations against the hotel employee for attempted coercion, incitement to hatred and false suspicion were discontinued, said senior public prosecutor Ricardo Schulz of the FAZ. Both singers and hotel employees had filed criminal charges against each other.

Stephen Locke

Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.

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Ofarim wanted to check into a hotel in Leipzig on the evening of October 4, 2021, where he was staying for an MDR television recording.

Because the hotel's booking system had failed, a queue had formed at check-in, which regular guests apparently known to the staff were being guided past.

Ofarim was not one of them, which allegedly led to an exchange of words with the reception staff, after which Ofarim left the hotel.

Then, on the morning of October 5, he posted a self-made cellphone video on Twitter, in which he accused a hotel employee, whom he referred to as "Mr. W.", of not checking him in because of his Jewish faith.

Instead, he is said to have asked Ofarim to first remove the chain with the Star of David, after which he would also get a room.

The highly emotional video, in which Ofarim burst into tears several times, spread like wildfire on social networks and led to numerous (short-circuit) reactions.

Thousands of people, including artists and politicians, showed their solidarity with Ofarim or announced that they would boycott the hotel.

A spontaneous demonstration took place in front of the lobby on the same day.

Witnesses described the incident differently

Soon after, however, doubts arose as to whether everything actually happened as Ofarim described.

Several witnesses who were present in the hotel lobby at the time of the exchange of words described a completely different view of things and also stated that Ofarim was not wearing a necklace with a Star of David or that such a necklace was not visible.

The hotel employee, who was immediately suspended from work at the time, also described the investigators as “a very different version” of the events.

The chain was also not visible on surveillance videos from the entrance area.

Ofarim himself then involved himself in contradictions.

Sometimes he publicly stated that it didn't matter whether the necklace was visible, then again he said that he definitely wore it.

However, the public prosecutor's office has now come to the conclusion that Ofarim's descriptions and in particular the allegation of anti-Semitism are not correct.

The investigators, who were faced with diametrically opposed statements in the case, did not make their job easy.

Not only did they hear both of the people reporting the crime and numerous witnesses, they also called in a digital forensic expert who analyzed the extensive material from the surveillance cameras.

As a result, "the events as described by Gil Ofarim in his published video did not actually happen," the prosecutor said.

Allegations of defamation and false suspicion

Even more: All of Ofarim's descriptions could not be confirmed.

Accordingly, the singer apparently completely made up the whole incident and, on top of that, falsely accused an employee.

There is "sufficient suspicion that Gil Ofarim recorded a video [...] and published it with knowledge of the untruth of his statements and with knowledge of the resulting defamatory and public opinion degrading consequences for the hotel employee concerned “.

That's called slander.

According to the investigation, Ofarim wanted to broadcast the video live on the evening of October 4th.

However, since both Facebook and Instagram were down that day, he recorded the video and only published it the next morning.

Because the singer also stuck to his version during the police interrogations, the public prosecutor's office now also accuses him of having told an untruth against his better knowledge and made himself liable to prosecution for false suspicion.

At the end of last year, a law firm commissioned by the hotel to investigate the case came to the conclusion that the receptionist was not to blame.

The law firm had also interviewed witnesses from the lobby and viewed the surveillance videos.

As a result, they found “no indications” of misconduct by the employee.

There is therefore “no reason” for labor law measures.

Both the employee and Ofarim were subsequently subjected to massive hostilities.

The regional court in Leipzig will now decide whether to admit the charges.

That too is unusual.

However, due to the "large and nationwide public perception of his frequently viewed video caused by the accused Gil Ofarim" and the special importance of the case, the public prosecutor's office decided not to go to the district court.

The FAZ has not yet received a statement from Gil Ofarim.