Suspected anti-Semite calls for political participation in newspaper

In Berlin, an average of seven anti-Semitic incidents are registered per day. One is now making national headlines again. The very man who threatened a Jew with death in front of a synagogue at the end of July and was said to have shown the Nazi salute on video appeared in a newspaper report a few weeks later to demand more political participation. "Because foreigners also have a right to vote. Because they also live and work here," Jihad A. is said to have complained about first-time voters in a report by the "Tagesspiegel".

According to research by “B.Z.” This is the same young man who is said to have been noticed on July 25th in front of the synagogue of the Jewish community Kahal Adass Yisroel in Berlin-Mitte. At that time, the community chairman Pavel Lyubarsky said he was subjected to anti-Semitic insults and threats on the way to the Shabbat service. Lyubarsky reported that a young man told him “Fuck Jews!” and “I will kill you!” shouted.

Jihad A. is said to have been filmed by participants in a vigil in front of the synagogue. In the videos that were distributed on social networks, a young man can be seen giving the Hitler salute several times. The Berlin police are said to have identified the man, and there are photos of him that were also posted online. It is said that the state security agency has taken over the investigation.

According to “B.Z.” Berlin police confirmed the matching personal details in both incidents. WELT asked the Berlin public prosecutor's office and the Berlin police whether this information was correct. However, an answer is still pending. The Jewish community was also asked to comment.

The “Tagesspiegel” has now reacted and removed the relevant passage with the 18-year-old’s statements. “Transparency note: An earlier version of this article featured a young man who – as we only later found out – is said to have given the Nazi salute to a board member of a Jewish community on the street in the past,” says an editor’s post. "We were not aware of this connection when we published it. We have now removed the relevant passage because we do not want to offer him a political platform."

The editorial team now wants to research the matter further, it said in a statement when asked by WELT.

The case was previously made public by Shlomo Afanasev, council member and founding member of the affected Jewish community. He wrote on the platform He further explained: “A democracy lives from freedom and rights, but also from responsibility.”

In the “Tagesspiegel” article, Jihad A. is introduced as an 18-year-old Syrian from Moabit. In the photo he is wearing the same cap and a distinctive beard as in the videos in front of the synagogue. The reporter met him at an information event about the Berlin election in a Neukölln youth club called “Burger Talk”, where candidates from the various parties introduced themselves. In the House of Representatives election in Berlin, young people aged 16 and over were allowed to vote for the first time.

After the left-wing candidate Kerstin Wolter presented her positions, the 18-year-old spoke up in the question and answer session, according to “Tagesspiegel”. He reported that he had been living in Germany for eleven years but only had a residence permit. That is why he is excluded from the Berlin House of Representatives election, although he would like to cast his vote. He thought it was unfair not to be allowed to vote and asked the candidate: “What can you do about it?”

The left-wing politician Wolter responded with understanding for the 18-year-old's situation, as a video stream of the event available online shows. That's why she spoke out in favor of faster and simpler naturalization procedures. “I think it’s just part of a democracy that people who work and go to school here are also allowed to vote here.”