Berlin rabbi attacked in front of children

Rabbi Aviezer Kantor says his glasses fell to the ground after he was struck in the face during an alleged antisemitic attack while walking home in Berlin-Charlottenburg.

Kantor was nearing home with his 5-year-old son and a 14-year-old yeshiva guest when, he says, a man began shouting at him.

What started as verbal abuse became an alleged antisemitic attack that continued as Kantor and the children tried to get home.

Berlin police say a 31-year-old man allegedly followed a man wearing a kippah and two children on Uhlandstrasse on Saturday afternoon, shouted antisemitic insults, spat at the group, and struck the rabbi in the face.

“The blow was not very strong,” Kantor said. “But my glasses fell…”

Berlin police released an updated statement Sunday under the headline “Antisemitic attack — beaten and spat at.” The case is now being investigated by the State Security division of Berlin’s State Criminal Police Office.

According to police, the incident took place at around 3:15 p.m. Saturday on Uhlandstrasse in the Charlottenburg district of western Berlin.

Kantor said he and the children were already close to home when the man began shouting.

“At first, I acted as if I could not hear him,” Kantor said. “But then he started following me.”

He said he initially tried not to engage. The man, however, continued after the group and came closer.

Kantor said he told the man that he was not afraid of him and asked why he believed that he should be. Then he made clear that children were with him.

“I told him, ‘I am with small children. Leave me alone,’” Kantor said.

He said he repeated that request twice.

The encounter escalated at an intersection, where Kantor said the man came toward him and struck him in the face.

Police said the suspect allegedly struck Kantor in the face after Kantor addressed him.

Kantor said several people nearby tried to pull the man away from him.

“There were many non-Jewish people there who tried to move him away from me,” he said. “I asked them to call the police.”

According to Kantor, the man continued following the group toward his home.

When they reached the building, Kantor said, he told the children to go upstairs because he expected police to arrive. A Jewish neighbor who had seen the incident called police, he said.

I arrived shortly afterward, while the police operation was still underway on Uhlandstrasse. Multiple police vehicles were at the scene, and officers were separately questioning people involved in the incident.

Because the attack occurred during Shabbat, Kantor and I agreed to speak in detail afterward. On Sunday, he confirmed his account of what happened and clarified that the younger child was his son, while the teenager was a 14-year-old yeshiva guest staying with the family for Shabbat.

Police said several people came to Kantor’s aid after the alleged assault, including a 45-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman. A later physical confrontation involving the suspect and the 45-year-old man is also under investigation. Police said that confrontation followed after the suspect allegedly antisemitically insulted and threatened the woman.

The 31-year-old has disputed parts of the account and alleged that he was insulted by Kantor and physically attacked by both Kantor and the 45-year-old man. Police said no one required medical treatment at the scene.

Kantor said the alleged attacker appeared intoxicated and was carrying a bottle of alcohol. He said he pointed this out to police officers and asked that the man be tested.

Berlin police said officers conducted a breath alcohol test on the 31-year-old. The result was not released.

After the initial questioning, police took the man into custody, established his identity and took a blood sample before releasing him.

Kantor said police also tested him for alcohol and that his result was 0.0.

For Kantor, the most painful part was not only the alleged violence against him, but that it unfolded in front of children.

“If I had been alone, maybe I would have given in,” he said. “But I told him twice that I was with small children and asked him to leave me alone. For the children, it was a shock. He did not care.”

In Kantor’s view, the case is not an abstract police category. It was a walk home with children that became an alleged pursuit and an assault in the street.

The investigation is ongoing.