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Influencer Lizzy Savetsky exits ‘Real Housewives of New York,’ citing antisemitism
(JTA) — One of two Jewish women tapped for the next season of a popular reality TV show has backed out, citing “a torrent of antisemitism” that she said she had received since the cast was announced.
Lizzy Savetsky, 37, had been set to appear in the 14th season of “Real Housewives of New York,” a show that broadcasts the glitzy lives of New York City socialites. (Last year, the show featured a drama-filled Shabbat dinner.) But she announced on Instagram on Wednesday that she had reconsidered because of 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. “Unfortunately, from the time of my announcement in the cast, I was on the receiving end of a torrent of antisemitism. As this continued, I realized that this path was no longer right me and my family.”
In the initial aftermath of the announcement, Savetsky was cheered by her many Jewish followers on social media, who said she could play an important role by representing Jews positively on the show. But her Instagram handle proclaiming her as a “proud Zionist” drew criticism from pro-Palestinian activists, while some Jews on social media also criticized her for not dressing modestly despite being part of a Modern Orthodox Jewish community.
She posted multiple times in recent weeks about facing antisemitic comments online. After she commented on rapper Kanye West’s Instagram post that ignited his ongoing antisemitism scandal, she said she “received yet another frightening barrage of antisemitic hate and threats.” And earlier this month, she shared 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 antisemitism today.
“Less than 80 years later, I receive death threats on a weekly basis because I stand up as a proud Jew,” she said. “I take these antisemitic threats seriously. Hate is growing rapidly and becoming more widely accepted as the norm.”
Savetsky frequently shares snapshots of her family’ Jewish life with her 221,000 Instagram followers. In just the last few months, for example, she posted about the mezuzahs her family was putting up in their new Manhattan apartment, a trip to the grave of Chabad’s last rabbi and donating a torah to Israel’s army. Stella, one of her three children, also posts videos about each week’s Torah portion.
Savetsky’s departure leaves one Jewish cast member for the season set to debut sometime next year. Erin Lichy is a 35-year-old Tribeca mother of three and real estate agent who grew up in Manhattan as “one of five children in a close-knit Israeli family,” according to her bio on the Bravo website.
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Iran to Boycott World Cup Draw Over Visa Restrictions
Soccer Football – World Cup Playoff Tournament and European Playoff draws – FIFA Headquarters, Zurich, Switzerland- November 20, 2025 The original FIFA World Cup trophy is kept on display during the draws. Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
Iran intends to boycott next week’s World Cup draw due to the limited number of visas allocated to the country’s football federation.
According to the Tehran Times, the United States issued visas to only four members of Iran‘s delegation, with requests for three additional visas denied, including one for Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) President Mehdi Taj.
“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken are unrelated to sport and that the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” FFIRI spokesman Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, per the report.
Alavi said the federation has been in contact with FIFA in an effort to resolve the situation.
The World Cup draw will take place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The expanded 48-team World Cup is being hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Matches will be played at 16 venues, including three in Mexico and two in Canada.
The draw will sort the teams into 12 groups of four. The top two teams from each group and the eight best third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Iran has secured a spot in its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh appearance overall.
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Dublin to Rename Chaim Herzog Park in a Move Slammed as Attempt to Erase Jewish History
Anti-Israel demonstrators stand outside the Israeli embassy after Ireland has announced it will recognize a Palestinian state, in Dublin, Ireland, May 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Molly Darlington
i24 News – Citing the Gaza war, Dublin city council voted to rename a park honoring Israel’s sixth president, the Irish-born Chaim Herzog, in further manifestation of anti-Israel sentiment in the country.
While a new name is yet to be chosen, reports cite efforts by pro-Palestinian activists to change it to the “Free Palestine Park.”
Former Irish justice minister Alan Shatter harshly criticized the vote, charging that “Dublin City Council has now gone full on Nazi & a committee of the Council has determined it should erase Jewish/Irish history. Herzog Park in Rathgar is named after Chaim Herzog, Israel’s 6th President, brought up in Dublin by his father, Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, a friend of Eamon De Valera, who was Chief Rabbi of Ireland & Israel’s first Chief Rabbi… Some councillors want the Park renamed ‘Free Palestine Park.”
The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland issued a statement regarding the renaming of Herzog Park.
“It sends a hurtful and isolating message to a small minority community that has contributed to Ireland for centuries. We call on Dublin City Councillors to reject this motion. The removal of the Herzog name from this park would be widely understood as an attempt to erase our Irish Jewish history.”
A virtuoso diplomat and an intellectual giant, Herzog had served in a variety of roles throughout his storied career, including a memorable stint as the ambassador to the United Nations, where in 1975 he delivered a speech condemning the Soviet-engineered resolution to brand Zionism as a form of racism. The address is now regarded as a classic, along with the oration from the same session by the US Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar slammed the decision, saying that Ireland’s “antisemitic and anti-Israel obsession is sickening.”
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Qatar’s Al Thani to Visit Beirut Wednesday to Meet with Lebanon’s Leaders
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani makes statements to the media with then-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Doha, Qatar, Oct. 13, 2023. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani will visit Beirut on Wednesday to meet with Lebanon’s leaders, Al-Jadeed reported Saturday.
The visit comes “as part of an effort inseparable from the efforts by Egypt in coordination with Arab countries, foremost among them Saudi Arabia.”
The trip coincides with a sensitive period for the country, ravaged by war and deep economic crisis.
Lebanon is under growing pressure from both Israel and the United States to more swiftly disarm Hezbollah and other Islamist groups across the country, with Israel increasingly inclined to stop the Shiite militia from rearming and rebuilding its infrastructure.
Hezbollah was left devastated in the aftermath of a nine-day war last year, that saw Israel take out its command structure and lay waste to a significant proportion of its missile arsenal.