Dusseldorf – A Rabbi living in Dusseldorf reported on Facebook on Wednesday that he had been threatened on the street the day before by a pedestrian, for the first time in 18 years in the city. As usual, he was traveling on the street wearing a kippa, a white shirt and shawls, said Chaim Barkahn, who since 2001 has been rabbi of the Orthodox Chabad Center on Bankstrasse in Golzheim.

Not far from his home, which is located nearby, “a man at first cursed me with filthy expressions as a Jew, and then turned out extremely negative about Israel,” writes Barkahn in the publicly post. “When I wanted to go on, he started to pursue me. I walked faster and faster, but he kept pace with me. I finally managed to shake him off and return home. “

Barenkahn adds that “unfortunately, for the first time, he has the feeling that he is no longer safe in Düsseldorf as a Jew”. Even when he fled to the Chabad Center, he did not feel safe. “I still hope for better times,” he continues in his post. For telephone inquiries Barkahn was not available in the evening. Whether he has informed the police is unclear. A police spokesman had no information about an ad.