Do people who claim to be victims of a crime fabricate the crime? Sometimes. Can we easily distinguish between the false report and a true report? No, not always. For example, there is the example of the recent false accusation of anti-semitism against an employee in a hotel in Leipsig on the part of singer Gil Ofarim, Germany. It was instantly accepted at face value. Political and community leaders in the country rose up in anger, some calling for the employee to be fired before anyone questioned whether or not it really happened. After all, antisemitism is rife and why would anyone cry “wolf”!

Yet, an investigation was conducted and the accusation was found to be false. Now Ofarim faces trial himself.

There have also been supposed victims of rape who were not really raped, or not by the person they accused. As a former sex trauma therapist I know that to be true. The percentage of false accusations that I encountered professionally was minute, but it was there. And to the person falsely accused of such a heinous crime, it is 100%. The personal and professional damage to the falsely accused may be irreparable.

In Israel, we have the situation today in which accusations of settler violence are generally immediately accepted as true by most people. Or, at least it appears that way. The media and political leaders are quick to repeat incantations against “unprovoked settler violence” and it seems that few strong voices rise up to ask that investigations be conducted before determining that settlers, usually the Hilltop Youth more specifically, are guilty as accused.

Ofarim has made the job of those in Germany working diligently to combat anti-Semitism that much harder. But there is also an important lesson here in caution, for with hindsight, no German politician should have spoken out so definitively without a proper investigation of Ofarim’s allegations. Not to mention that the next time someone reports such an incident—particularly one that involves service workers in a hotel or a restaurant or an airport—Gil Ofarim’s example could well encourage the too-hasty dismissal of such a complaint.

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IN: https://grassodefense.com/fabrication-and-victimization-in-criminal-law/

The recent Jussie Smollett fiasco sheds light on a little discussed fact which will hopefully get more exposure following the revelation that Smollett completely fabricated his victimization: More often than many people realize, claims by people who accuse others of crime are completely fabricated.

Human beings are complex creatures. The reasons behind the actions of individuals can have many causes and deep seated origins. This is not to say that crime does not happen and that victims of crime are not real. In the majority of cases, things are usually what they seem. A crime is committed and someone suffers as a result. However, this reality does not cancel out the possibility that in any particular case, the allegations are false.

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Last modified: December 11, 2025