Gil Ofarim has once again spoken out from his living room and “armed only with a guitar”. On Instagram, the singer-songwriter tells an anecdote from a life and plays a song on the guitar. He refers to his comeback concert, which will take place on April 17, 2025 in the Matrix Club in Bochum. Tickets are still available for Gil Ofarim’s only 2025 concert announced last year. With a hall capacity of only 700 people. It’s understandable that he’s pushing the advertising drum.
Gil Ofarim also announces the release of a new single on Instagram. And talks about his beginnings as a musician. He asks his fans to send him song requests for the Bochum gig via direct message: “slided into my DMs”.
Gil Ofarim on Instagram:
A fan he never imagined he knew taught him an important lesson. After the release of his album “On My Own,” this fan called him. Gil Ofarim says that he immediately insulted him on the phone. Because he thought he was being taken for a ride. Because this fan on the other end of the line identified himself as Jon Bon Jovi, singer of Bon Jovi.
When Ofarim received an invitation backstage to a Bon Jovi concert, they became closer. “Always try to stay true to yourself. Through ups and downs,” the old rocker advised him.
Another piece of advice: “Never allow yourself to be photographed topless. Or smeared in oil”
Forgetting is difficult
“Always try to stay true to yourself. Through ups and downs.” A piece of advice that Gil Ofarim probably mentioned for a reason. The musician is currently going through a low.
Background: In November 2023, Gil Ofarim stood before the Leipzig Regional Court for defamation and false accusations. Two years earlier, the now 42-year-old had recorded a video in front of the Westin Hotel in Leipzig. In it, he claimed that a hotel employee discriminated against him when he checked in because of his Star of David necklace and made anti-Semitic insults with the words: “Pack up your star!”
The matter famously went to court as the hotel sued him. On the sixth day of the trial, Ofarim admitted that his allegations proved to be untenable. He was sentenced to pay a fine of 10,000 euros. The amount was to be paid to the Israelite Religious Community of Leipzig and the sponsoring association of the House of the Wannsee Conference. Ofarim only made the payment months later.
In a clip published at the beginning of November, Gil Ofarim spoke about what he had suffered as a result of the “Star of David Chain Affair”. He has lost 25 kilos in the last few months and has given up alcohol. And I sought professional help. He thought: “Everyone deserves a second chance. I want to dare to do that.” Who would have thought that he would now take himself so literally.
Erase a mistake
Many believe that Ofarim, who is Jewish, has caused great harm to his religious community. And that’s not all: he was criticized in the comments under his video primarily for his self-centered statement, which lacked a real apology. For example, he had no words for the Westin hotel employee, “Mr. W.”, who may have been threatened with termination – and who received death threats. The Westin Hotel in Leipzig, which was exposed to a shitstorm, was also not mentioned.