Gil Ofarim
A Jew?
Lying to make himself the victim?
There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany has strongly condemned a singer after he admitted to making up allegations of being discriminated against by hotel staff in Leipzig over his Star of David pendant, saying the musician had caused “great damage to the victims of genuine antisemitism”.
German-Israeli citizen Gil Ofarim, 41, had claimed in a video posted on Instagram in October 2021 that employees of the Westin hotel in the eastern German city had asked him to “put away” a Star of David pendant before he was allowed to check in.
This week, German Israeli singer Gil Ofarim wasn’t allowed to check in a hotel in Leipzig because he was wearing a Star of David necklace. No artist should face such discrimination simply for who they are. Watch his statement: pic.twitter.com/Ie5G63tju9
— Creative Community for Peace (@CCFPeace) October 6, 2021
The incident gained much attention in Germany at the time, sparking protests outside the hotel and words of solidarity from the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
During a defamation trial against him at Leipzig’s district court, however, Ofarim on Tuesday confessed to making up the story and issued an apology to the hotel’s manager.
The proceedings for defamation and false accusation were subsequently dropped, and Ofarim was ordered to make a donation of €10,000 (£8,600) to the Jewish community of Leipzig and the House of the Wannsee Conference, a Berlin memorial museum at the villa where Nazis planned the annihilation of Europe’s Jewish population.
I guess we can now call him… Jewsie Smollett.