Woman brutally attacked in Berlin over Star of David necklace

In Berlin's Mitte district, two unknown assailants attacked a 43-year-old woman because of a Star of David pendant. One of the attackers struck her with a broken glass bottle. The victim was hospitalized. Police are investigating the incident as an antisemitic crime.

In Berlin's Mitte district, two unknown individuals brutally attacked a 43-year-old woman solely because she was wearing a necklace with a Star of David pendant. The incident occurred on the night of Saturday, September 12, 2026, around 2:30 AM on Torstrasse. The perpetrators noticed the Jewish symbol, began shouting antisemitic slurs, and then one of them struck the victim with a broken glass bottle. The woman tried to defend herself and sustained several cuts to her arm. The attackers fled. Paramedics provided first aid and took her to the hospital. Details about the woman's current condition and the suspects' descriptions have not been released by police. The investigation is being handled by the State Security department of the Berlin Criminal Police, which covers politically, extremist, and antisemitically motivated crimes. No arrests have been reported. This incident adds to a long list of antisemitic incidents in the German capital. According to official statistics, Berlin recorded 2,268 antisemitic offenses in 2025, a 24.3% increase from the previous year, with 64 cases involving direct violence. A similar attack occurred in June in the Charlottenburg district, where a 47-year-old man wearing a kippah was attacked in front of his two children. According to a July report from the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office, 820 investigations with antisemitic context were opened in 2025, compared to 756 the year before. A prosecutor specializing in combating antisemitism emphasized that the threat level remains extremely high.