Israeli singer-songwriter Elior Zandani, a former contestant on the ninth season of "The Next Star," revealed on Monday evening that he was attacked while vacationing in Athens, Greece, after three people heard him speaking Hebrew. The altercation left him with facial injuries and fractures to his nose.
Zandani arrived in Athens over the weekend to perform at local tavernas and celebrate his 25th birthday. However, while enjoying a night out near the city's Olympic Stadium, he found himself caught up in a violent confrontation.
"I was in Athens this past weekend," Zandani began in a story he posted on social media. "I traveled there to sing a little at the tavernas and, mainly, to celebrate my 25th birthday. We went out to a party on Saturday night."
According to Zandani, approximately two hours after arriving at the party, he stepped outside to speak on the phone. During the conversation, he wandered a short distance away and reached an area where taxis were parked.
"After about two hours, I went outside to talk on the phone, and during the conversation I ended up near the taxis, where a group of three people noticed that I was speaking Hebrew (I'm not particularly good at hiding signs that I'm Israeli)," he recounted.
Zandani claimed that the three began verbally attacking him because of the language he was speaking and that the confrontation quickly escalated into a physical fight.
"They started verbally attacking me, and the situation got out of hand, so I didn't just let it slide. From there, things developed into a fight," he wrote.
During the confrontation, the singer was struck in the face, suffering severe swelling and fractures to his nose. However, he made clear that he had also fought back against his attackers.
"I took some pretty serious blows to the face, which also became very swollen. I promise you they got some too."
According to Zandani, at a certain point he realized he was alone against the three attackers and decided to flee.
"The moment I realized I really was alone, I took off and ran away."
Zandani admitted that the incident left him shaken, particularly because it happened in a foreign country, far from home.
"I'm not ashamed to say I was really stressed out. A situation like that in a foreign country is one of the most unpleasant things I've ever experienced."
He concluded his post with a message to his followers: "Take care of yourselves wherever you are. Am Yisrael Chai - the people of Israel live."