An Israeli tourist was assaulted in Berlin on Sept. 9 as he was speaking to three other men in Hebrew, the Jerusalem Post reports.
The tourist was conversing with the three men outside of a nightclub when the assailant punched the tourist in the face and then fled. The tourist told police that the assailant was “Arab-looking,” according to the Post. The Post also noted that the police report on the matter described the assault as having an “anti-Semitic background.”
Israeli diplomat Dan Poraz tweeted out a link to the story, writing that “its 2019 not 1939.” He added in a follow-up tweet, “To almost every trip abroad, to almost any destination – Jews will usually be cautious/uncomfortable about speaking Hebrew. In fact, there’s only one place in the world in which Jews speak Hebrew freely.”
#Jew punched in the face in #Berlin for speaking Hebrew.
Its 2019 not 1939.
https://t.co/cMXRDdKDQC— Dan Poraz (@PorazDan) September 9, 2019
There’s something I’d like to explain to my non-Jew followers.
To almost every trip abroad, to almost any destination – Jews will usually be cautious/uncomfortable about speaking Hebrew.
In fact, there’s only one place in the world in which Jews speak Hebrew freely.
🇮🇱 >> https://t.co/mz7Czdz73c— Dan Poraz (@PorazDan) September 9, 2019
<< Show me another people who are cautious about speaking their language, or honesty answering when asked where they’re from. >>
— Dan Poraz (@PorazDan) September 9, 2019
<< Zionism is all about that. Allowing Jews the right that all peoples have. The right to freedom, independence and self determination. The right to speak Hebrew on the street without getting punched in the face.
— Dan Poraz (@PorazDan) September 9, 2019
A German intelligence agency released a report in June stating that there was a 71.4 percent increase in anti-Semitic violence from 2017 to 2018 and 20 percent in anti-Semitic hate crimes overall in the same timeframe. In May, German Commissioner Felix Klein warned Jews against publicly wearing kippahs in the country, a statement he later backed down from after facing criticism over it.
“Germany’s domestic intelligence agency notes #antiSemitism is a core element of both right & left-wing extremism, and also essential to Islamist extremist ideology,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tweeted in June. “We must tackle this rise in anti-Semitism and extremism, no matter the source.”
