US tourist allegedly hit in the face in Berlin after saying he was Jewish

Police are investigating after a 23-year-old American tourist claimed he was hit in the face in Berlin after telling a group harassing him that he was Jewish.

The man suffered a black eye in the incident which allegedly took place on Tuesday night, which he reported via a police website, according to news reports.

The episode occurred in a park in the Steglitz district of the German capital at about 9 pm when three people in a group of 10 began to harass him.

One reportedly asked the tourist about his religion, then hit him in the face after he answered that he was Jewish.

The incident comes just days after an attack on a 20-year-old man who was wearing a kippah in the Prenzlauer Berg district of Berlin. He was harassed and the perpetrator tried unsuccessfully to spit on him. The case also is under investigation.

In April, the Berlin-based Research and Information Centre on Antisemitism said there had been a 14 percent increase in anti-Jewish incidents in Berlin over the previous year, when 951 antisemitic incidents were reported.