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IDF reservist on vacation turns the tables on antisemitic assailant

Spanish man assaults Israeli tourist in the Philippines, only to be beaten in hand-to-hand combat twice and then mocked by local police.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

An Israeli army reservist was assaulted by a Spanish tourist on the Philippine island of Siargao recently, after the man learned he was Israeli, prompting a street fight that left the Israeli with a broken finger.

Uriah Brolmes, who said he served in Gaza and Lebanon, told Israel’s Channel 14 that the confrontation began at approximately 3 am when he entered a café frequented by Israeli travelers to use the restroom.

According to Brolmes, another customer stared at him, approached and repeatedly demanded to know where he was from.

“He came straight up to me and asked, ‘Where are you from?’” Brolmes recalled. “I asked him, ‘Why are you asking?’ He insisted, ‘Answer me, where are you from?’ I told him, ‘Israel.’”

Brolmes said the man immediately ordered him to leave the café, despite having no connection to its management.

“He told me, ‘Get out of here now,’” Brolmes said. “I asked him if he owned the place, and he just started screaming, ‘Get out of here.’”

The Israeli said he went outside and was followed by the Spanish tourist, whom he described as significantly larger than him.

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“He started shouting, ‘Baby killer,’ and saying things about the army and genocide — all the things connected to the war,” Brolmes said.

Brolmes said he briefly considered concealing his nationality when first questioned but decided against it.

“I thought about it for about two seconds and said, ‘What, really?’” he said. “I told him Israel. At worst, I would leave. I wasn’t afraid.”

According to Brolmes’s account, he attempted to prevent the confrontation from becoming violent and reminded the other man that security cameras were recording them.

“I told him, ‘Listen, I don’t want to fight you. Leave me alone. Everything here is being filmed,’” Brolmes said.

The tourist allegedly replied, “I don’t care. I’ll kill you.”

Brolmes said he then warned the man that he would defend himself if attacked.

“I told him, ‘If you insist on this, I’ll fight you and I’ll finish you. It’s not worth it,’” he said.

The Spanish tourist then allegedly punched Brolmes in the face, triggering a fight in the street. Channel 14 published footage it said came from a security camera.

Brolmes said he overpowered the other tourist and threatened him during the fight, telling him in English, “I will kill you if you don’t understand me.”

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“I had already explained to him that it wasn’t worth it and that I wasn’t a pushover, but he didn’t understand,” Brolmes said.

The reservist broke a finger during the altercation, saying the injury occurred when his final punch struck the other man’s teeth.

Brolmes said he then returned to his villa, gathered several friends and went back to the café at approximately 4 a.m. According to his account, the Spanish tourist attempted to attack him again, and Brolmes kicked him into a table.

“I told him, ‘What you deserve, you’re going to get in full,’” Brolmes said. “‘You’re going to be finished. You started this.’”

Local police subsequently arrived and placed the Spanish tourist in a holding cell, Channel 14 reported. Brolmes claimed the officers supported his version of events and mocked the detained man over losing the fight.

Brolmes said he refused to settle the dispute without compensation and a recorded apology.

“I told them I wanted an apology on video and 70,000 pesos,” he said, referring to a sum worth approximately $1,200. “He tried to negotiate and said, ‘Brother, that’s expensive,’ but I answered, ‘Listen, that’s the price. Otherwise, there will be trouble here.’”

The Spanish tourist ultimately paid the full amount. Brolmes later traveled to Thailand for surgery, during which a screw was inserted into his broken finger.

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Brolmes said he initially hesitated to publicize the incident but ultimately decided to release the footage as a message to Israelis facing hostility abroad.

“In the end, we are not a nation of pushovers,” he said. “The fact that we are walking around Europe or elsewhere in the world and people harass us does not mean we need to fold like mice. We are not suckers.”