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Jewish Tourist Facing German Police Investigation After Defending Himself During Antisemitic Assault
Pro-Hamas demonstrators marching in Munich, Germany. Photo: Reuters/Alexander Pohl
A Jewish tourist from Mexico who suffered an antisemitic attack in the German city of Munich is himself under police investigation for assault after two of the men who struck him sustained minor injuries during their altercation.
“What else should I have done?” the 30-year-old man, who has not been named, told broadcaster BR24 when asked about the incident.
The attack took place last Thursday night as the man, who wears a kippah, was leaving a local bar. While he was speaking to a Jewish friend in a video call, six men confronted him.
He said that the men had “approached when I was on the video call because they saw me with my kippah. At first I didn’t really notice them; I was still talking.”
He said that the group blocked his path and aggressively asked him where he was from and if he was Jewish.
“The next thing I know is that they beat me up on the sidewalk, [punching me] in the face and ribs,” he said. He added that he had attempted to flee his attackers. According to BR24, the man’s face was covered in scratches and dried blood as a result of the beating. A passerby who witnessed the attack came to the man’s aid, calling the emergency services who took him to a local hospital for treatment.
According to the Munich police, the man’s attackers were a mix of German, Syrian, Eritrean, and Yemeni citizens. Munich Chief Prosecutor Sebastian Murer told BR24 that even though the police investigation was still underway, “it can be assumed that a large part of this act — which includes publicly approving Hamas terror — are based upon antisemitic motives.”
According to the prosecutor’s office, 119 antisemitic acts related to the renewed conflict between Israel and Hamas have been recorded in Munich since the Islamist terror group’s Oct. 7 pogrom in southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were murdered and over 200 seized as hostages.
Dominik Krause, the mayor of Munich who belongs to the left-wing Green Party, said in a statement that both the attack on the Jewish tourist “and the antisemitic mood of the past few weeks have really shaken me deeply.”
“I think it is right that Bavaria’s antisemitism officer has now taken over the investigation in the event of an attack on the tourist, and we as the state capital of Munich will definitely continue to do everything to ensure that Jews can move freely and safely in Munich,” Krause added.
The Jewish tourist, who was visiting Germany on an eight-week trip to Munich and its surrounding area, remained defiant.
“I won’t hide who I am,” he declared. “If a Muslim woman can wear a headscarf, then a Jewish man can wear a kippah. This is Germany, and Germany should be safe for everyone.”
The post Jewish Tourist Facing German Police Investigation After Defending Himself During Antisemitic Assault first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.