26
ZOA Fights for the Rights of
a Jewish Professor Viciously
Assaulted in Germany
The ZOA has been fighting for justice for
Yitzhak Melamed, a professor at Johns Hopkins
University, who was subjected to two vicious
and unjustified physical attacks when he
was in Germany last July to deliver a keynote
address at Bonn University.
Professor Melamed was first attacked because
of his Jewish identity by a self-identified
Palestinian Arab man. The professor was
wearing a yarmulke at the time and the man
shouted anti-Semitic comments at him.
As Professor Melamed ran after his attacker,
police officers – running from the opposite
direction – ran past the attacker and tackled
Professor Melamed instead. They pushed his
head into the ground and, while he was totally
incapacitated and barely able to breathe
or move, they began punching his face. They
cuffed his hands behind his back, as he was
shouting that they had the wrong person.
It is possible that the police mistook Professor
Melamed for the attacker. But that does
not excuse their brutality against him.
When Professor Melamed insisted on filing
a complaint against the policemen who physically
assaulted him, the police retaliated with
a complaint of their own, falsely accusing him
of resisting arrest and attacking the police.
Several German authorities, including Germany’s
Ambassador to the U.S., apologized to
Professor Melamed. Yet rather than put an end
to his ordeal, German authorities are allowing
it to continue. As of this writing, several troubling
developments were recently reported to
us, including:
• Investigative files that Professor Melamed
requested and received include the detailed
testimony of a witness to the beating – a
Berlin resident who was visiting Bonn and
had no reason to distort the truth. This
witness described the police beating of Professor
Melamed as brutal and unjustified.
• Without considering all the evidence, the
prosecutor may close the case against the
policemen who physically assaulted Professor
Melamed, and may also close the case
against the policewoman who threatened
Professor Melamed with a frivolous and
retaliatory complaint. Professor Melamed
has repeatedly offered to go to the German
Embassy in Washington, D.C. to give testimony
about what happened last July –
offers that the German authorities should
welcome and require, so that all claims are
resolved based on all the available evidence.
Despite these efforts, German authorities
have rebuffed Professor Melamed’s offers.
• Two of the four policemen who attacked
Professor Melamed were recently investigated
– one for alleged police brutality
(reportedly, this case was closed), and a
second for a neo-Nazi affiliation (he was
part of a group of policemen sending Nazi
slogans on the police radio).
• When the chief investigator interrogated
a witness and wrote up his report, he
did not refer to Professor Melamed by his
name or title. Appallingly, he referred to
Professor Melamed as “der Jude” – the Jew.
This alone tells us much about whether anti
Semitism has infected this whole matter
and the way in which it has been handled.
Professor Melamed is a highly-respected
scholar and member of his community. His
grandparents, aunt and uncle were killed by
German police, all in one day, in 1942. It is
frightening and unacceptable that German
police can continue to scapegoat, victimize
and brutalize Jews today.
Once alerted to Professor Melamed’s plight,
the ZOA sprang into action, enlisting the
help of Richard Grenell, the U.S. Ambassador
to Germany. The Ambassador’s staff met
with German authorities and is continuing to
monitor the situation, to ensure that justice is
When the
chief investigator
interrogated
a witness
and wrote
up his report,
he did
not refer to
Professor
Melamed
by his name
or title. Appallingly,
he referred
to Professor
Melamed as
“der Jude”
– the Jew.
This alone
tells us
much about
whether anti
Semitism
has infected
this whole
matter and
the way in
which it has
been
handled.
Center for Law & Justice