German police are investigating an assault on a Jewish man in Berlin on New Year’s Eve which took place after he asked a group of men to stop singing antisemitic songs.

The victim, Shahak Shapira, 26, an Israeli national, suffered bruises and a head laceration when he was attacked in the early hours of January 1, while on the underground in the Kreuzberg quarter of Berlin, according to German news reports.

Police said that Mr Shapira recorded the seven men singing antisemitic songs on his mobile phone. The man was followed by the group as he exited at a central station. They demanded that he deleted his recording and when he refused, they allegedly spat on him, kicked him and punched him in the head.

The attackers ran from the scene before they could be apprehended by security staff from the Berlin transit authority.

Mr Shapira described his assailants as “southern European” in appearance and said that they spoke both German and Arabic. Police have said that the mobile phone footage should be helpful in catching his attackers.

The first this year, the incident is one of several violent anti-Semitic attacks which have taken place in Berlin in recent months. In July, a Jewish man wearing a cap with a Star of David was beaten. In November, an Israeli tourist was punched and kicked by four attackers in the Charlottenburg quarter of Berlin.