German Man Assaulted for Refusing to Shout “Free Palestine”

A 36-year-old man was assaulted in Berlin after he refused to shout “Free Palestine” on the evening of October 25.

The German newspaper Berliner Zeitung reported that three men approached the victim and pushed him to shout “Free Palestine”; the victim refused, prompting the three men to “kick and beat him brutally.” The victim was unconscious for a short period of time and has been hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. The whereabouts of the assailants are currently unknown.

The German-Israeli Society Youth Forum told The Algemeiner, “‘Free Palestine’ is not a peaceful slogan, but is used to call for the destruction of the only Jewish state and is therefore clearly antisemitic. The attack shows that Israel-related antisemitism is a violent reality in Germany.”

The American Jewish Committee tweeted that they were “horrified” by the assault and called on German police “to bring the perpetrators to justice and wish the victim a full recovery.”

We are horrified by the vicious assault on a Berlin man who sustained life-threatening injuries after three men reportedly beat him for refusing to say, "Free Palestine."

We call on @PolizeiBerlin_E to bring the perpetrators to justice and wish the victim a full recovery. https://t.co/MiOhGQ7G5g

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) October 26, 2021

Julie Lenarz, Director of Social Media for the AJC, tweeted that the attack shows that “anti-Zionism is just a modern manifestation of age-old Jew-hatred.”

Anti-Zionism is just a modern manifestation of age-old Jew-hatred.

In Berlin, a man sustained life-threatening injuries after three men repeatedly punched him for refusing to say, "Free Palestine."https://t.co/MKKayqCmFX

— Julie Lenarz (@MsJulieLenarz) October 26, 2021