A movie director who recently co-directed a film on Chassidic Jews has caused outrage with a statement she made about Chasidic Jews during the Holocaust, the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council (OJPAC) alerted.
Heidi Ewing, a documentary filmmaker who co-directed “One of Us”, a Netflix film documenting stories of former Chasidic Jews who no longer practice Judaism, was a guest on PBS’s The Charlie Rose Show on Saturday.
During the show, Ewing said that Chasidim were murdered in the Holocaust, “partly because they refused to blend in.”
Many criticized the filmmaker on social media, calling her statements ignorant, and questioning the accuracy of her film about Chasidic Jews, which claims to “offer a rare peek into the insular world of ultra-Orthodox Jews through the eyes of three young adults who are struggling to leave it behind.”
“This is outrageous on its face, and ignorant too, as most Jews murdered had long ‘blended in, were not observant and were certainly not Hasidic,” the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council wrote on Twitter. “How can one rely on the accuracy of a film director regarding Chasidim when the director is so wrong on a basic fact about the Holocaust?”
Jay Schneider says the claim is “Revising history to push a false narrative. It’s egregious and disgusting betrayal so she can push her ideology with impunity,” he wrote on Twitter.
Update (Sunday October 22 5:00 pm): Ewing released the following statement earlier this afternoon.
“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 hands of the Nazis is unspeakable. Almost half the population of world Jewry was destroyed by the Nazis and their 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.”
the holocaust was started becuase some yidden where blending in , becuse those beasts know that we are A am echad and since they know that they where “wondering” why we are trying to blend in so they took advantege . so to nowdays do not blend in+ becuse hitler is a idiot
If you read “those who never yielded” by Moshe Prager, you see that the Nazi’s actually especially targeted “talmudists” and loved torturing chassidic Jews with their beards and peyos. Also, whenever they entered a community they came first for the rabbi. It was true, that those who wouldn’t shave their beard, etc, were targeted
WHAT BLENDS IN THIS IDIOT WOMANS LIFE IS HER KNUMBSKULL AND STUPIDITY
If a dog barked would you give it the dignity of such publicity?
#1 & #3, well said and true. alot of good comments here
The damage done by this organization is seen again. Although
they say they only want to help individuals who are leaving
Yiddeshkeit already, it is obvious that they encourage them
to go otf the derech, milichatchila. Etty didn’t have to “frei out” in order to get divorced and have custody of her children. In fact, had she stayed frum, she probably would
have had much better chances to have custody. The people.
at Footsteps gave her the wrong advice.
Huh? You follow rhe rebbe’s guidance but you want all adults to watch a vulgar movie? Hear and see znus? Hear 3 troubled people who are turning away from their souls (as if that were possible), and give respect to a stupid director?
Sheesh.
You have just given your blatant approval to other Disturbed individuals to”come out of the closet” instead of getting the professional help they need.
Why don’t you discuss this with a mashpia per the Rebbe’s direction, someone who is worthy of that title, before spewing your anti-Torah messages!
The statistics that are often quoted about the rate that frum Jews leave the fold are 10% for Chereidim and 20% for MO. The proliferation of organizations started in the frum community to fight various types of abuses and addictions would not occur if the rate of flight from the frum velt was less that 1%. The MO world has it’s own definition of leaving the derech but that may be due to more secular exposure while the Chereidim might be due to too much control, insularity, lack of opportunities, or abuse. The frum world must educate itself on mental… Read more »
perhaps what she said was taken out of context and what was videotaped was not really what she meant hopefully.
An amazing, heartbreaking documentary that is a must-see.
To all you apologists, who minimize the unacceptable abuse of many kinds, in the religious/Chassidic community; “how dare you!”. B”H, we finally live in a free world, which is supposed to give everyone, human rights. For a community to institutionally protect abusers, over the abused, in the name of religion yet, is a community that needs to be scrutinized. Kudos to all those involved in this movie, JCW, and others involved in victims rights. As Louis Brandeis correctly said: “sunlight, is the greatest disinfectant”.
Would love to see a movie about parents accepting their otd kids and how there can still be a loving family dynamic. This would be far more educational.
Her error is that those that discriminated against Chassidim were unfortunately other Jews who had the same logic as her. Ever heard of the Kastner court case?! Read “the unheeded cry”. Btw the Germans had just the same hate (if not more) for the rich, liberal Jews who tried to be just like the rest of the Goyim. Not to mention that such a view of the holocust is a big insult to all secular Jews who were killed. By these people the narrative that they decided to be true is the highest fact to which all facts are null… Read more »
You don’t know what “premise” means.
More movies need to be made that show the truth. I won’t forget growing up secular and being force fed that all Jews went like sheep to the slaughter. We have amazing directors/ maybe Kiruv is showing the truth – the partisans, the Warsaw ghetto uprising, yidden just keeping yiddishkeit in the worst place on earth- and all the yidden whose grandparents left but we are back and stronger and raising large families while our secular family is experiencing zero population growth.
This is her exact quote: “they were exterminated in the holocaust, partly because they refused to blend in, they kept wearing the clothing, they were loud and proud of their identidy, the fast majority died..” this is sickening, willful ignorance. to desecrate the memory of victims of the holocaust to promote a documentary is pure evil. she needs to be called out and shamed for this outrageous lie that just slides off her tongue. she is basically implying that they had it coming to them, ‘bc they refused to blend in’ etc. besides for being a lie, for people that… Read more »
A true Chassidic filmaker and cinematic genius!
These Satmar etc kids seem to confuse Satmar culture and Torah Judaism as passed down from Moshe, they take issue with culture yet the throw off everything. I was brought up in Australia and learned science etc and it was not a contradiction to Torah. Most of what these kids want they could do remaining faithful to orthodox and even Chassidic Judasim these kids seem confused. It is evident that this woman has a very low level of education due to her lack of accurate research and she does not know her historical facts, I grew up among holocaust survivals… Read more »
When we ignore the things that need improvement, the ‘other side’ jumps in to take advantage. Two wrongs don’t make a right but one wrong opens the door to worse
Cruel cold shallow idiotic dim witted
Hard to spend time responding to such idiocy.
NOW IT’S TIME FOR A FILM ABOUT SECULAR JEWS TURNING TO RELIGION AND CONVERTS TO JUDAISM!!!!!!
something very different than what the Baal Shem Tov and the Chabad rebbeim said. That is something we have to deal with but BH in our community our jewish hipsters are more likely to create a kosher restaurant than something ‘treif’
Many German Jews mastered the German culture with so much detail that they described themselves as more German than ethnic Germans and it is exactly there were the Holocaust started
Just delegitimizes the whole movie, after the producers are anti semitic.
Based on the comments, this director has an agenda she is pushing. That we chassidic Jews only care of someone is doing mitzvos; nothing else matters.
There are no OTD kids who went off for a reason other than abuse? Every OTD person was molested or abused? Yes, some were. To take three and present it as a rule? I don’t think so. Based on that and her comment about Jews not assimilating, this woman is pushing going off the derech. I wouldn’t sully my neshoma by watching anything she produced.
to the few (or same person) stop defending what she as “out of context” and excusing what she said she is ignorant and doesn’t know what the facts are… just because she found a few (and a very low percentage) of people that are OTD and make a film about it .. doesn’t make her a authority on Judaism.. and whoopie doo the fact that there are OTD is nothing new this has been going on in all Jewish times not just by chasidim but hundreds of years before . there were unfortunately jews that left the fold … but… Read more »
Firstly, the film criticizes satmar, not chabad. Secondly, the reason why Etty was being harassed was not because she was seeking divorce; it was because she was fighting for her children in court. (and yes, perhaps satmar was far too intrusive into her life. but dont forget that when she got married she agreed with her husband to raise her children orthodox. thus when she began veering off the path and intended to raise her children as such, SHE was the one breaching that agreement). and the notion that we ought to accept everyone: This particular argument makes little sense… Read more »
Hey #2, this has nothing to do with trying to “learn the lessons of how we can improve.” This director was blatantly wrong. Hassidim were not killed because they didn’t want to blend in. That is just a ridiculous false statement. Do you think had they just told Adolf that they’ll trim their beards and read Goethe, all would be good and they’d be living life to its fullest now in sunny Poland?
She made a stupid comment and now people are calling her on it. That is all. No deeper lessons for us.
Just last night mostly boring overly long and showed three misfits opting out. Although to their credit not entirely
She made it seem that this was rampant but could not find any real shunning or shaming to report
Now I see she has an agenda Skip the movie.
Read comment 18
Not sure about the remark – did not hear it, but I’m sure it’s wrong, there is no justification to the Holocaust,
What the remark accomplished; is tremendous PR about the film, this is the first time that I am hearing about it.
You can comment on her page respectfully, explain how offensive it is.
https://www.facebook.com/heidi.ewing.18
The Satmar who are publicizing this out-of-context clip actually believe that the Holucost was caused by Zionist Jews.
She was trying to explain how the trauma of the Holocaust is what causes Satmar’s to be so insular. This statement was misinformed but she was actually defending chasidic Jews.
For those of us who haven’t watched it – what are the lessons?
Whether or not she is correct or misinformed regarding the Holocaust has nothing to do with the validity of her co-produced film, which is about 3 present day individuals.
Someone watched to much of fiddler on the roof
but she is not!
She definitely knows she is lying. The Nazis YM”S killed anyone who had 25% Jewish blood. But she doesn’t care that she is lying because most of her listeners will swallow up her lies. She can advance her agenda. Why should truth get in the way?
I believe that all chasidic adults need to watch this documentary. There is so much that it can teach us, so much change we can make. As chabad chassidim we are all about including every single type of jew. Every single type of jew also includes our sons,daughters,brothers, and sisters. Just because someone in our community wants to follow a different path it doesnt mean we should ban them from our lives! In this documentary a young woman is being terrorized by chasidic men because she wants to divorce her abusive husband. Her community cares more about the fact that… Read more »
but she’s blissfully ignorant and uneducated on the topic she has undertaken to showcase in her film!
I would say all three. She made so many statements during the interview that can be disputed from every angle. She obviously didn’t do any research!
Often OTD anger is never placated and will blame everything on being frum. Poor woman – will never get any rest in her life.
Obviously the filmmaker has an agenda of vindicating the “breakaway” subjects of her film, by badmouthing Chassidic Jewry. The fact that she has to resort to lies, just proves that her premise is not a valid one! Halevei (meaning: If only it were true!) that during the Holocaust, a European or Russian Jew could give themselves a makeover as a worldly-“fitting-in” Jew and thereby successfully escape the Holocaust! Of the six million, there are really no statistics about how many were or were not frum — only about the martyrs’ countries of origin. The same is true of survivors. What… Read more »
Utter ignorance! Hitler wiped out millions of Jews, not discriminating if one was ultra orthodox Chassidic or completely a part of everyday society, cassimilated! Disgusting!
She’s so stupid and cocky
Address the content of the film not an out of context remark but the director.
Many Jews were murdered in the Holocaust who were assimilated. If Jews were murdered because they refused to give up their beliefs and assimilate, that is something to be proud of. If she’s insinuating that the Holocaust happened because there were Jews who did not assimilate, is she justifying murder of people who look or dress differently and do not melt into the general society?
she is grossly misinformed!
Another idiot
Don’t support this movie. It’s very cunningly antisemitic.
None. Goodbye, Heidi, try another job.
Ugh
Another ignorant remark. Living in ghettos and shtetlach without the internet, chasidim were way more insular in most cases than they are today.
Such incredible historical misrepresentation. The German Jews were THE most secular and assimilated and that’s the birthplace of the holocaust. The most despised Jews were the ones that were most affluent which by and large were secular such as the Rothchilds (which first generation was hassidic but his children and succeeding generations heavily assimilated). The greatest cause of hate to Jews is envy of disproportionate achievement in society. They hardly envy our dietary restrictions, our Sabbath restrictions , the hundreds of other restrictions/requirements, our fashion etc. The most anti Semitism today is leveled at Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, Zuckerberg, Weinstein, Katzenberg,… Read more »
Perhaps you should watch it and maybe take some lessons on how we can improve.
would she say that about muslims and arabs who ” refuse to blend in”? its the secret of our survival…. not the other way around- Am lvodod yishkon…