New York – Apology Not Accepted, Says Hikind, As Director Of Movie About Former Chasidim Backtracks On Controversial Holocaust Remarks

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    Film director Heidi Ewing speaking to anchor Jeff GlorNew York – The director of a newly released documentary that shares the story of three former members of the Chasidic community who were ostracized after choosing to adopt a different lifestyle has apologized for controversial remarks that she made about the Holocaust during an interview on the nationally syndicated Charlie Rose talk show.

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    Heidi Ewing, co-director of the Netflix documentary ‘One of Us’, was discussing the differences between Brooklyn’s contemporary Chasidic community living in Brooklyn and Europe’s pre-war Chasidic communities with host Jeff Glor on October 19th when she made a statement that seemed to suggest that only outwardly identifiable Jews were killed during the Holocaust and that Chasidic Jews were partly to blame for their own deaths.

    “The vast majority of Chasidic Jews were exterminated in the Holocaust partly because they refused to blend in,” said Ewing. “They kept wearing the clothing, they sort of were loud and proud about their identity and the vast majority died during the Holocaust.”

    Watch below the full interview Ewing gave to anchor Jeff Glor

    Contacted via Facebook Messenger to discuss her comment, Ewing responded with a statement saying, “I am sorry if my words on Charlie Rose caused any pain and would like to clarify their meaning. The devastating losses that the Jewish community suffered at the hand of the Nazis is unspeakable. Almost half the population of world Jewry was destroyed by the Nazis and the collaborators, whole communities destroyed. In the midst of this sweeping genocide, Hasidic Jews suffered disproportionate losses during the Holocaust partially because they were more easily identified and therefore had more difficulty hiding. This has been documented by multiple historians. It took great courage for Hasidic Jews at that time to refuse to change their appearance to look more like the general European public. I am only filled with respect and admiration for any person who chooses to live their own truth.”

    Ewing, who lives in what she describes as an “ultra-Orthodox” neighborhood in Brooklyn, declined to comment any further on her statement.

    In an interview that ran in The Times of Israel (http://bit.ly/2xY7Bcp) on the same day as the Charlie Rose segment, Ewing said that she is a non-practicing Catholic while Grady described herself as “a secular Jew” who “went to temple on Yom Kippur.” According to Ewing, the two women whose previous documentaries have also delved into other religious waters, are “fascinated by religion but have no problem with religion.”

    “Practice and believe what you want, but when you have a community like a large portion of the Hasidic community that goes unchecked and has its own laws, it’s a witches’ brew – a recipe for disaster,” said Ewing. “This happens across all religions. No judgment until there is a poisonous element when misogynist faiths run by men get twisted.”

    Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who is mentioned in the Times of Israel article as being the Chasidic community’s “own guy on the assembly,” said that he found Ewing’s comments to be extremely distasteful.

    “To make this kind of statement is inexcusable and that apology is not accepted on any level,” Hikind told VIN News. “This is hateful gross ignorance that has caused harm and pain. For some reason, people today seem to think that they can just say anything and get away with it and it is amazing that in 2017 people think they can still spout such ignorance.”


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    36 Comments
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    6 years ago

    Ewing is another self hating person dancing onto anyone who wld speak ill on our lifestyle. Sorry but I have seen too many “enlightened” FOOTSTEPS teenagers commiting suicide or on the verge of or died from drug anuse. Done with this nonesense. Let these so called abused people live the hell of life they choose to and have to reckon only with the one above. Weve seen too much disgruntled kids falling off the fold and blaming our lifestyle. Crap!
    I saw love with my own eyes to a confused teenager in a real hassidic home. She was never ostracized. On the contrary, she was loved and cared for and never wanted to leave home. WHY?! Cuz her parents did EVERYHNG right for her and theres EVERYTHING wrong with her. So stop with the abused sheltered hyperbole. These people hate us and will dig dirt up from the wall.
    Yes! Theysre troubled sad sick teenagers and theres bothing we can do about it but they had a beautiful youth and noone to blame.

    6 years ago

    Implicit in what they said is that women who dress provocatively as asking to be raped.

    Reb Yid
    Reb Yid
    6 years ago

    Clueless ToI article. Hikind is Cassidy’s own guy in assembly? He may help them, but he’s certainly not one of them

    grandbear
    grandbear
    6 years ago

    ON the contrary the hatred of the jews in germany was the effect of the intermarriage of jews and the gentiles. The german history is filled with jew hatred that blossomed in the period before WW1 .Their culture of pure race and the phantasy of the germanic tribes fostered anti semitism,.It was the jew that dressed in the fashion of the gentile that was provocative and threatening .

    6 years ago

    Hitler YM”S didn’t look for chasidim. HE SEARCHED ANCESTRY OF ALL JEWS HY”D …………………… she needs to talk to the few Holocaust survivors that are still around to get the REAL FACTS………….

    jack25
    jack25
    6 years ago

    She doesn’t know what the hell shes talking about. She clearly got her information from people who’s intentions are to paint this dark brush on all Hasidic Jews. Some of things she says might be true but those are isolated incidents.
    “A handful of families have all the money and they share it?!?” How about the Hasidic jews are very generous and give an enormous amount of charity.
    She’s got some bad info!

    bplady
    bplady
    6 years ago

    Ewing who is not Jewish, is talking out of ignorance. Today, through the internet, any off the derech person, can spew hatred towards us. I hate the fact that a hating Jewish person got together with a goy to make a movie putting down her own community and making us look horrible. Don’t these Jews realize that by putting down the frume, they are making all Jews look bad? Are they trying to get the goyim to hate us more, to find fuel for their hatred? If one day, there would be an uprising towards the Jews, chas v’shalom, all these otd’s would be right there part of it.

    RobertS
    RobertS
    6 years ago

    Regarding dressing to “blend in”, I would borrow from Bernard Malamud, “If you ever forget you are a Jew, a gentile will remind you”

    ralph1527
    ralph1527
    6 years ago

    She obviously never learned the Tochacha .

    favish
    favish
    6 years ago

    baloney, it wasnt documented by nobody. and if yes they are just as balony

    YouGottaBeKidding
    YouGottaBeKidding
    6 years ago

    “when she made a statement that seemed to suggest that only outwardly identifiable Jews were killed during the Holocaust and that Chasidic Jews were partly to blame for their own deaths.”

    Really, VIN? Is that really how you understood her? That ONLY frum Jews were killed? That it was their own fault? She literally said nothing of the sort. Liberals these days are obsessed with fake outrage. I expected better from VIN news. Oy bashefer, how can people fool themselves so?

    6 years ago

    This woman is wholly unqualified to make a documentary about chasidim. Moreover she demonstrates a total lack of understanding of the holocaust and shouldn’t be talking about it in a public forum.

    imhumble
    imhumble
    6 years ago

    The film maker is ignorant. it is obvious from her comments that she is unaware that Hitler did not care about how a Jew dressed. He killed Germans who wore contemporary clothing at the same rate as Chasidim. He even gassed Jews who intermarried. Total nonesense.And just as bplady says if chas v’shalom, it should never ever happen that Hitler returned looking for Jews the movie stars in “One of Us” would be taken together with the Chasidim.Hitler didnt discriminate what kind of Jew you were…chasid, reform or OTD.
    Additionally,I have seen the film and it too is full of distrortions and dishonesty. The men are pathetically unhappy frustrated people and the woman claims to be abused by her husband has a history of mental illness. How desperate are these film makers to distort facts and rely on unstable people for information?? pathetic!
    Dov Hikind, dont lower yorself to their level.

    Gabeklein
    Gabeklein
    6 years ago

    I’m not or sure which I find more distasteful, Mayim bialik’s suggestion that a woman may be to blame for getting sexually harrased due to her mode of dress, or this disgusting piece of white trash’s suggestion that Hasidim choice of dress, was to blame for getting murdered during the holocaust…..
    But what disgusts me more is the hypocritical liberal media giving Ewing a pass while dragging bialik through the mud,
    I’d give bialik the pass, because at least she has some talent

    zoifunny
    Active Member
    zoifunny
    6 years ago

    Ironically the holocaust started in Germany where most of the jewish population was not even religious let alone Hassidic…..

    6 years ago

    I just watch this video. all these people casting in this documentary have one agenda. To paste a very dark and ugly picture about chasidim. They ablame personal stories on chasidim. they don’t see themselves. They had very hard upbringing and blame everyone and everything that happened to them. I’m so sorry for them but it will not get them anywhere just go on a life and be successful .stop blaming the chadisha community it is a beautiful Community with full of beautiful aspects to it. and of course downsides Just like any other community in the world.

    6 years ago

    While there are issues in the chasidish world, there are just as many in every other sect, but that didn’t cause Hitler to kill more chasidim than any others & I’m certain that didn’t occur. It is fact they wanted rabbanim, but they wanted anyone who was the head of their society so they can bring moral down

    puppydogs
    puppydogs
    6 years ago

    Some liberals are really sick individuals.

    yonasonw
    Member
    yonasonw
    6 years ago

    …you haven’t read. “One of Us” is a very disturbing movie…it contains exaggerations…and is one-sided…but it also exposes uncomfortable truths. See the movie.

    BPYiddene
    BPYiddene
    6 years ago

    Remember, that this woman is just a movie director. She said something that was misunderstood, or she was misinformed, but is classy enough to admit her error, and backtrack. She doesn’t need the frum world’s approval. However, when Dov Hikind makes himself blackface on Purim, and shows himself up to be a racist, he doesn’t have the courtesy to backtrack and apologize. Now, all we need is this Jewish Al Sharpton’s offspring as city councilman. Oy, Rabboinoi shel oilem.