An Israeli man living in Germany has filed a lawsuit against a restaurant in Berlin, alleging he was discriminated against because of his Israeli background.

The incident took place in February at a restaurant in the city’s Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood. He ordered hummus and pronounced the dish’s name with an Israeli accent. He said that the waiter corrected his pronunciation, saying the word is pronounced differently in Arabic.

The waiter then told him it was a Palestinian restaurant, treated him rudely, and refused to continue serving him after learning he was from Israel, even indicating that he should leave the premises. When he asked whether he was being refused service because he was Israeli, the waiter replied that he associated his nationality with political support for Israel.

Following the incident, the Israeli contacted Ofek e.V., a counseling and support center for victims of antisemitic violence and discrimination. With the organization’s assistance, he filed a lawsuit in the Berlin Regional Court, alleging that the restaurant employee discriminated against him on the basis of his ethnic origin and subjected him to antisemitic discrimination.

According to the German Taz news outlet, the man first filed a complaint with the restaurant but says he received no response. He later demanded an apology from the owners, but claims that request also went unanswered.

Taz quoted the Israeli as saying that the experience of being asked to leave the restaurant because of his Hebrew accent and background was “extremely humiliating.”

“I believe food should bring people together and build bridges between them, so this hurt me especially,” he said.

Marina Chernivsky, executive director of Ofek, said the case is “an example of many incidents of discrimination” the organization has handled since October 7.

“It illustrates the growing social isolation and exclusion experienced by many Israelis and Jews in Germany since then,” she told Taz. “Antisemitism limits the equal participation of Jews in social life, through both open hostility and more subtle forms of discrimination.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)