A German man who went on trial in Frankfurt, Germany Monday for being a member of the extremist ISIS group once played for a Jewish soccer club.
Kreshnik Berisha, 20, is alleged to have traveled to Syria where he fought with the group for five months before he returned to Germany, according to the Associated Press.
Berisha, 20, reportedly comes from a Muslim family from Kosovo. He was arrested in Germany in December on charges of membership in a foreign terrorist organization and is believed to be one of about 400 German citizens who have joined jihadist groups fighting in Syria since the beginning of the more than three-year-long civil war.
State prosecutors said he underwent firearms training in Syria and reportedly worked as a medic for ISIS.
“On top of this, he took part in combat missions that occasionally lasted several days,” the charge sheet read.
He has since “turned his back” on ISIS, defense lawyer Mutlu Günal told the British newspaper The Guardian. The judge reportedly is working with prosecutors on a plea deal in exchange for information about the extremist group.
Berisha played on the under-17 youth team of Makkabi Frankfurt, a prominent Jewish soccer club, as recently as 2011.
Membership in the team is not restricted to Jews and is described as diverse. Israeli teams also are also careful not to discriminate with regard to race, religion or color.
All that matters is to win and be proud to say that the team is from Israel, even if not one player is Israeli and not one is even Jewish.
When you hear the lefties talks about a “Jewish democratic state of Israel,” the “Jewish” is in name only.
JTA contributed to this report.