Berlin man denies anti-Semitic motive in attack on Jewish student

A 24-year-old man went on trial in Berlin on Tuesday over an alleged anti-Semitic attack on a Jewish student.

The defendant, formerly a fellow student at the Free University of Berlin, admitted attacking Lahav Shapira in February 2024 on the first day of the trial at the Tiergarten District Court in the German capital, but denied an anti-Semitic motive.

"I am very sorry," the Berlin-born man said in court.

The prosecution accuses the defendant of grievous bodily harm motivated by anti-Semitism, linked to Shapira's activism in relation to the October 7, 2023, attacks by the Palestiniam militant group Hamas on Israel.

Shapira, now 32 years old, was attacked outside a bar in the central Mitte district on February 2, 2024.

The defendant admitted following Shapira as he left the venue and attacking him after an argument.

The 24-year-old, whose parents are from Lebanon, said he underestimated his martial arts experience and lost his composure.

"It was not about politics," he added, arguing that he had carried out the attack due to Shapira's behaviour in a WhatsApp group and because he tore down a poster at the university.

Prosecutors say the man knocked down Shapira with his fist and kicked him in the face, leaving the Jewish student with a complex facial fracture and a brain haemorrhage.

Shapira appeared as a witness on Tuesday, explaining how he was forced to "lock himself at home for several weeks" after suffering severe injuries.

A judgement in the case is expected on April 17.

The German commissioner on anti-Semitism, Felix Klein, attended the first day of the trial.

"This trial shows one thing very clearly: namely how dangerous anti-Semitism is and how important it is for the judiciary to consistently prosecute and penalize it," he said ahead of the session.