In autumn 2021, pop rocker Gil Ofarim triggered a global (media) debate with a pixelated social media clip. It was about an alleged anti-Semitic freak out by a receptionist at the Westin Hotel in Leipzig. The focus was on a necklace with a Star of David. However, the police investigation also revealed another fact…
The local public prosecutor’s office is now investigating Ofarim – for defamation. Now his lawyer Markus Henning has spoken publicly on this matter for the first time. In a broadcast by the NDR TV magazine “Zapp”, he said that he expected his client to be acquitted if proceedings were brought against him.
At the time, there was a conscious decision not to raise an objection to the investigation setting against the hotel employee. Gil Ofarim would never have sought to accuse an individual. He wanted to draw attention to it, according to Henning on “Zapp”, “what happened to him and what he considers unacceptable in today’s times”. However, his client would continue to hold to the controversial description of the incident, which ultimately led to the accusation of defamation, Henning said when asked.
At the end of March, the Leipzig public prosecutor brought charges against Ofarim. The regional court must now decide whether it will allow this cause and whether main proceedings will be opened, this time against Ofarim.
The “Westin” hotel director Andreas Hachmeister also has his say in the “Zapp” article. “It wasn’t a shit storm for us. It was a hurricane that swept over us.” In addition to worldwide media inquiries, there have been countless hate calls and social media attacks. An extreme situation for him and his team. “On October 5, part of my life changed,” says Hachmeister.