Heidi Ewing, a co-director of the “One of Us” Netflix documentary, has apologized for her comments about Hasidic Jews being targeted during the Holocaust for not blending into society.
Ewing appeared on The Charlie Rose Show on Thursday and said, “The vast majority of Hasidic Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust, partly because they refused to blend in.
“They kept wearing the clothing,” said Ewing. “They sort of were loud and proud about their identity, and the vast majority died in the Holocaust.”
Ewing received some serious backlash on social media for her comment:
I am speechless. @HeidiLoki, you really need to apologize for this offensive claim https://t.co/FAVwLnfJYK
— (((David Lange))) 🇮🇱🇦🇺 (@Israellycool) October 22, 2017
Another Hollywood liberal publicly displays her ignorance, or intolerance, or both.
Read a book, @HeidiLoki. https://t.co/AxF682eiCy
— Reagan Battalion (@ReaganBattalion) October 23, 2017
Ewing made a documentary about how awful Hasidic Jews are. Maybe her next one could be about how they were responsible for being murdered. https://t.co/u8o7Mry7i7
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) October 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/bethanyshondark/status/922869949072314370
https://twitter.com/bethanyshondark/status/922870126617284608
https://twitter.com/bethanyshondark/status/922871234945306625
https://twitter.com/bethanyshondark/status/922871398636417024
https://twitter.com/bethanyshondark/status/922871570590326784
https://twitter.com/bethanyshondark/status/922871783581274112
Others weren’t quite as taken aback by it:
https://www.facebook.com/yoel.schaper/posts/10159682594370500
https://www.facebook.com/zac.mordechai/posts/10159739978860352
https://www.facebook.com/rachmuna/posts/1168817046551422
Ewing eventually apologized for her Holocaust remark.
“I am sorry if my words on Charlie Rose caused any pain and would like to clarify their meaning,” Ewing said in a statement. “The devastating losses that the Jewish community suffered at the hands of the Nazis is unspeakable. Almost half the population of world Jewry was destroyed by the Nazis and their collaborators, whole communities destroyed.”
She added that “Hasidic Jews suffered disproportionate losses” since “they were more easily identified and therefore had more difficulty hiding.”
“It took great courage for Hasidic Jews at that time to refuse to change their appearance to look more like the general European public,” said Ewing. “I am only filled with respect and admiration for any person who chooses to live their own truth.”
Some weren’t satisfied with her apology:
https://twitter.com/SethAMandel/status/922861353362165762
Sorry. She's impeached herself. https://t.co/eeYq7hG86Y
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) October 22, 2017
Others felt that her comments shouldn’t take away from the substance of the movie:
https://twitter.com/jhoffman/status/922120874622373889
“One of Us” is a documentary that follows three former Hasidic Jews who have been ostracized by the community since they left. The documentary was released on Friday. Gerri Miller wrote about it for the Journal here.
