Jewish man beaten in Berlin in suspected antisemitic attack

An unidentified suspect assaulted a 60-year-old Jewish man in a Berlin park on Saturday, the city’s police department said on Sunday, describing the incident as a suspected antisemitic attack.

The assailant punched the man, knocking him to the ground, after confirming he was Jewish, according to a Berlin Police statement. The victim suffered minor injuries to his face.

The incident, which happened on Gleditsch St. in the Berlin district of Schoenberg, began with the suspect offering the victim beer, according to the statement. Upon hearing that the man was Jewish, the suspect began cursing him, threw a can of beer at him, which missed, and poured some beer on him before assaulting him and fleeing the scene. According to Der Spiegel, the suspect hit the man several times before fleeing.

“The State Security Division of the Berlin State Criminal Police Office has taken over the investigation into suspected aggravated assault with an antisemitic motive,” Berlin Police said.

Last month, a woman wearing a Star of David pendant was allegedly stabbed after being accosted by two unidentified men in central Berlin at around 2:30 a.m., according to a police statement about that case.

The Berlin-based Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism recorded 8,725 antisemitic incidents in Germany last year, constituting a slight increase over 2024. The 2022 tally stood at 2,480 incidents.