Jewish leader slams attack on elderly man at German rally for kidnapped teens

83-year-old man suffers head wound, hospitalized at Hamburg rally; victim's daughter attacked when she tries to help father.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Dieter Graumann 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Dieter Graumann 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
An 83-year-old German man was assaulted while participating in a rally last week in Hamburg to raise awareness for the three abducted Israeli yeshiva students.
The assault was reported by the German Jewish news website Judische Allgemeine that quoted Dieter Graumann, the president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, who condemned the attack on Monday.
“The fact that here in Germany such pure hatred of Israel culminates in assaults, is frightening and extremely worrying. We wish the injured a speedy recovery and trust that the authorities quickly identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable,” Graumann was quoted as saying.
The rally in support of the three kidnapped teens was organized Friday by the German-Israeli Society of Hamburg and the organization Hamburg for Israel. Counter-demonstrators surfaced shortly after it began.
The 83-year-old victim, who was brought to hospital for treatment, was pushed to the ground so violently that he suffered a head injury and was unable to walk, according to the Judische Allgemeine. When the victim’s daughter tried to help her father she was also kicked by the counter-demonstrators, according to the report.
Inga Dinslage, Spokesman for the German-Israeli Society of Hamburg said he was shocked by the attack.
“We wanted to express our solidarity with the three abducted youths. That a sudden anti-Semitic attack came to a person participating at our vigil, shocked us very much,” the Judische Allgemeine quoted Dinslage as saying.