Karl Lagerfeld Claims Taking In Refugees Is Embracing The Enemies Of Jews
According to a report in the Times of Israel Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld evoked controversy this week when he made an appearance on French talk show Canal 8 and eviscerated German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her open borders policy.
According to a translation provided by the Times, Lagerfeld said, “You cannot kill millions of Jews and then take in millions of their worst enemies afterwards, even if there are decades [between the events].”
He went on to claim that Merkel was trying to rebrand “after the wicked step-mother image she gave herself in the Greek crisis.”
Lagerfeld’s statement induced hundreds of critical comments claiming that Lagerfeld’s statements were racist and Islamophobic. France’s Higher Audiovisual Council is currently investigating the matter.
Michelle Honig is a style writer at the Forward. Contact her at honig@forward.com. Find her on Instagram and Twitter.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.