In a radio show, Germany's antisemitism czar, Felix Klein, called out and urged investigation into a celebrity chef's antisemitic out-lashes.
Klein, the federal commissioner appointed in 2018 to tackle rising antisemitism in Germany, denounced the behavior of German celebrity chef Attila Hildmann as “scandalous," the algemeiner reported.
Hildmann is a vegan chef and author, and is well known for his cookbooks and appearances on television programs such as “Let’s Dance” and “Beat the Star.” However, during the coronavirus pandemic, he's switched his public persona from celebrity chef to Jew- hater conspiracy theorist via his social media.
Hildmann has used the his Telegram account as a platform to attack Jews and Zionists, calling them "parasites" and "subhumans." Many of the outlandish themes he has pushed are familiar in far-right and neo-Nazi circles, reports the algemeiner.
Klein said that Hildmann's actions were “scandalous and, in my opinion, relevant under criminal law." He further urged prosecutors to investigate the chef's record of “antisemitic agitation, revitalization of the Holocaust and mockery of Holocaust victims.”
Recently Hildmann organized a rally in Berlin to oppose coronavirus restrictions, but it was shut down by authorities who expected it to “lead to the utterance of criminally punishable statements once again,” the city’s interior minister, Andreas Geisel, explained.
“The right of assembly and freedom of opinion is very highly valued in our democracy,” Geisel added. “But the state will decisively stand up to anyone who takes advantage of it to make possibly illegal statements and trample on other people’s dignity.”
The radio show took place on the backdrop of Hildmann's antisemtic and neo-Nazi comments recent light gain in international media, after he made claims such as "the tribe Zionists" sought to destroy Germany after World War I with financial reparations, according to the algemeiner.
Hildmann asked his followers questions such as “Who financed the Holocaust?” Possible answers were “the Japanese,” “the Zionists” or “the Arabs.”
He added that Adolf Hitler was a “blessing” compared with Germany’s current Chancellor Angela Merkel, whom he called a “communist.”
Another question blames Jewish billionaire George Soros for financing the worldwide antifa movement.Toby Axelrod/JTA contributed to this report.