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German-Jewish singer apologizes for falsely accusing Leipzig hotel of antisemitism
(JTA) — Gil Ofarim’s allegation that a hotel clerk in Leipzig, Germany, denied him a room after seeing his Star of David necklace ignited outrage when the pop singer made it in an October 2021 video that went viral. Jews and others protested outside the hotel, and the employee was temporarily suspended.
But Ofarim’s story fell apart under scrutiny, although he defended it, and he was charged last year with making a false accusation and slander. Now, Ofarim — who was born in Munich to an Israeli musician father — has admitted that he fabricated the incident.
“I would like to apologize — I am sorry, I have deleted the video,” Ofarim said in court on Tuesday, in an admission that came as a surprise and suspended the case against him. In order to erase his charges, he will donate 10,000 euros, or about $11,000, to Leipzig’s Jewish community and the House of the Wannsee Conference, a Berlin landmark that was until 2005 Germany’s only Holocaust memorial, according to German media reports.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany, the country’s main Jewish administrative organization, issued a statement condemning Ofarim’s behavior and calling on him to “face the consequences of his lie in every way.” The group said the harm he has done has gone far beyond the hotel and clerk he has admitted to slandering.
“Gil Ofarim has caused great harm to all those who are actually affected by antisemitism,” the group said in a statement. “In addition to the public, he also lied to the Jewish community.”
The group, which had initially defended Ofarim, said it was appropriate to side with those who say they have experienced antisemitism but that false accusations were egregious.
“We have an antisemitism problem in our society; many are unsettled, especially in the current heated social situation, and are experiencing hatred and rejection of Jews,” the group said. “It is right to stand on the side of the person affected in the event of an accusation of antisemitism, to support them and not to initially question their experience of antisemitism. Conversely, such an accusation must never be made without justification. And unfortunately that’s what happened here.”
Last year, a German man was sentenced to seven months in prison for leaving a hateful comment about Ofarim in response to a news story about him. The comment, “In Buchenwald he would have liked to be seen with his Star of David,” referred to the Nazi concentration camp and ran afoul of Germany’s strict — and at times divisive — laws prohibiting antisemitic speech.
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The post German-Jewish singer apologizes for falsely accusing Leipzig hotel of antisemitism appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.