Israelis attacked by neo-Nazis in Serbia

Two Israelis were severely beaten by a pair of Serbian neo-Nazi skinheads at a concert in Belgrade at the weekend, in an attack described as “anti-Jewish and racist” by the local Jewish community.

Yariv Avram, 27, suffered head injuries while his friend Bojana Petkovic, 23, was left bruised after they were hit repeatedly in the face by the assailants who have now been detained by the city’s police.

The Israelis told the media that the attackers, who have now been identified by Avram and Petkovic, were wearing Nazi t-shirts and singing Nazi songs.

According to Belgrade radio station B92 one of the two assailants, an American citizen of Serbia, handed himself in to the authorities after claiming responsibility for the assault, but claimed the incident was blown out of proportion as he “did not beat but hit” Avram.

Although the Israelis had originally told the media they were concerned about the Belgrade police’s apparent slow response, on Tuesday they moved to redress the balance somewhat. “After such a swift reaction by the police, I have regained my trust in this country. However, I think that in the future the police should react even faster, arrest the attackers right away or better yet, prevent such attacks”, Avram said.