Lizzy Savetsky Pulls Out of “Real Housewives of NY” Due to “Torrent of Anti-Semitism”
Edited by: TJVNews.com
Seems like virulent anti-Semitism is spilling over in to the sphere on media and entertainment. The New York Post reported that Lizzy Savetsky, 37, one of two Jewish women scheduled to appear in the 14th season of “Real Housewives of New York,” a reality show that broadcasts the glitzy lives of New York City socialites has backed out. The paper reported that Savetsky cited the reason for her reluctance to appear on “a torrent of anti-Semitism” that she said she had received since the cast was announced.
The Post reported that she made the announcement Wednesday on Instagram. She said that she reconsidered her participation in the show due to the response that her inclusion received.
“As a proud orthodox Jewish woman, I thought participating in this series would be a great chance to represent people like me and share my experience,” she wrote on Instagram. “Unfortunately, from the time of my announcement in the cast, I was on the receiving end of a torrent of anti-Semitism. As this continued, I realized that this path was no longer right me and my family.”
The Post reported that subsequent to Savetsky’s announcement that she would not be appearing on the upcoming season of “Real Housewives”, Savetsky garnered enthusiastic support by her many Jewish followers on her social media platforms. The report also indicated that having described herself as a “proud Zionist” on her Instagram handle, Savetsky drew fierce condemnations from pro-Palestinian activists. Not all Jewish supporters cheered Savetsky as some offered harsh critiques of her for not dressing in a traditional modest fashion as is customary in the modern Orthodox Jewish community, the Post added.
In recent weeks, Savetsky had taken to social media on a number of occasions to express her concern about online anti-Semitic comments that were hurled in her direction, the Post reported.
Savetsky had commented on disgraced rapper Kanye West’s Instagram post that ignited his ongoing and very public anti-Semitic tirades. The Post reported that she had then been the recipient of “yet another frightening barrage of anti-Semitic hate and threats.” Also on social media, Savetsky posted a photo of herself and her husband dressed up for a gala to benefit Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, and said that she was concerned about rising anti-Semitism today, the Post reported.
“Less than 80 years later, I receive death threats on a weekly basis because I stand up as a proud Jew,” she said on social media. She noted that, “I take these anti-Semitic threats seriously. Hate is growing rapidly and becoming more widely accepted as the norm.”
Savetsky frequently shares snapshots of her family’s Jewish life with her 221,000 Instagram followers, the Post reported. In the last several months, Savetsky had posted photos of her trip to the burial site of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens as well as photos of her family placing mezuzahs on their new apartment in Manhattan and a photo of a Torah that she and her family donated to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Post added. Moreover, one of Savetsky’s three children, Stella, had also posted videos about the weekly Torah portion.
Now that Savetsky has decided not to appear on the next season of “Real Housewives” which is scheduled to hit the air waves at some point next year, this means that only one Jewish cast member remains.
Erin Lichy, a Tribeca mother of three and real estate agent who grew up in Manhattan is the other Jewish woman on the highly popular reality show. The Bravo web site said that Lichy, 35, is “one of five children in a close-knit Israeli family,” the Post reported.
