NEW YORK – Social media influencer Elizabeth Savetsky, who uses her platform to outspokenly support Israel and Judaism, is leaving the cast of "Real Housewives of New York (RHONY)" before filming has wrapped due to receiving antisemitic abuse since she was announced as a cast member earlier this month, she said on Wednesday.
Savetsky, 37, who declares she is a "proud Jew and Zionist" on her Instagram bio, boasting 220,000 followers, shared in an Instagram post: “Unfortunately, from the time of my announcement in the cast, I was on the receiving end of a torrent of antisemitic attacks. As this continued, I realized that this path was no longer right for me and my family.”
Reached by The Jerusalem Post for comment on Wednesday night, Savetsky said she could not elaborate on the antisemitic attacks.
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What started as an Instagram account to show her love of fashion turned into a way for the modern Orthodox blogger to vocalize her Jewish faith, teach Yiddish, serve as a matchmaker to Jewish singles (she runs a second account called Beshert By Lizzy) and give a peek into her family life alongside her plastic surgeon husband (the two met on a 2004 Birthright Israel trip) as the busy parents of three in Manhattan.
Antisemitic hate and threats for speaking up
Following rapper Kanye's antisemitic rants earlier this month, Savetsky wrote on Instagram: "Yesterday I received yet another frightening barrage of antisemitic hate and threats when I spoke up on Kanye West's since deleted post that perpetuates the dangerous myth that Jews control the media.
"My children's great grandmother didn't survive Auschwitz so we could sit idly by as people threaten our existence as a people. We have to speak up! I take these threats very seriously and you should too."
Elizabeth Savetsky
"The amount of hate that exists towards us is rapidly growing thanks to irresponsible influence from huge voices like Kanye's! Thankfully Instagram has restricted Kanye's account. That doesn't change the fact that I continue to receive shockingly hateful, even threatening comments in support of his antisemitic message."
She continued: "My children's great-grandmother didn't survive Auschwitz so we could sit idly by as people threaten our existence as a people. We have to speak up! I take these threats very seriously and you should too."
Savetsky said she originally decided to join the RHONY reboot "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." Season 14 of RHONY is slated to air in early 2023 on Bravo, without its Jewish star.