Trial Begins For EU Official Who Allegedly Shouted Anti-Semitic Hate Speech
(JTA) — The case of a Maltese European Union official accused of shouting anti-Semitic hate speech at an EU employee and assaulting her has come to trial two years after the incident occurred.
EU administrator Stefan Grech allegedly beat a senior employee over the head with a plaque commemorating Italian dictator Benito Mussolini while calling her “a dirty Jew” and saying “Hitler should have finished off the Jews.” He also reportedly had made comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
A complaint against him was filed at the time with Brussels police by the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism, or LBCA.
Grech was not present at a preliminary hearing this week, LBCA head Joel Rubinfeld told the Times of Malta, leading the judge to say that it showed a lack of respect toward the courts.
In an interview with the Times of Malta, Grech denied the account in the complaint. He was not suspended from his job over the incident. Grech also said the case had affected him so much he had taken several months of sick leave and sought counseling from a psychologist.
“There was an incident. I had too much to drink and got into an argument, but I am no racist and I did not lash out in the way that is being alleged,” he said.
Rubinfeld told the newspaper that the incident had been captured on a surveillance camera and that journalists were in possession of the tape.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30