A shocking act of violence was perpetrated against a man in the Würzburg district of Bavaria, Germany, who was wearing a pin with an Israeli flag, Bild reported.

A Syrian man noticed the pin and beat the man so severely that he required hospitalization. According to Bild, prosecutors are investigating the incident as an attempted murder.

According to the report, the Syrian assailant was standing next to the victim at a traffic light late Sunday night when he noticed the Israeli flag pin on the German man’s clothing and punched him in the face. The victim tried to flee, but the Syrian caught up with him and knocked him to the ground.

The assailant repeatedly kicked the victim in the head and upper body, stopping only when police intervened. The victim suffered a fractured vertebra in his back and is hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

The Bild report identified the victim as a German citizen who is a member of the German-Israeli Society (DIG) Würzburg, an organization that promotes German-Israeli relations. It is unclear if he was Israeli or Jewish or simply a pro-Israel German.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)