Two Israeli tourists have been attacked by a man of Palestinian descent in a Berlin nightclub, newspapers report. Police are investigating if the motive for the attack was anti-Semitic. The newspaper ‘Tagesspiegel’ reported that the two men, aged 22 and 18, were attacked at a nightclub located in the city's Kreuzberg district. One of the club's employees reportedly approached the 22-year old tourist and asked him if he was Israeli. When the Israeli said he was, the employee, who identified himself as a Palestinian, began to hit and choke him. When the tourist's 18-year old friend attempted to defend him he was also attacked, and a beer glass was thrown at him.
Gadi Lahat, Israel’s consul-general in Berlin, said the two were on a tour of Berlin's bars and that they had visited a number of establishments. He told ‘Ynet’ the fight had broken out at a bar called Matrix, which was their final stop for the evening. "The two Israelis, one of them a high-school graduate and the other recently discharged from the army, met two young ladies and were speaking to them before they were approached by the employee," he said. Lahat added that police had not yet confirmed the brawl was a product of anti-Semitism. He said the club's bouncer had stopped the fight by spraying the two with tear gas.
The probe was handed over to a special police unit because of the possibility that anti-Semitism played a role in the assault.
