Galliano Loses Jewish Lawyer
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The Shmooze is shocked — shocked! — to report that an anti-Semite and his Jewish lawyer have parted ways.
Depending on your source, Jewish attorney Stephane Zerbib has either quit working for British fashion designer John Galliano — or Galliano fired him. An unnamed source claims Zerbib “had enough” from Galliano, who was fired by the Christian Dior fashion label in March for an anti-Semitic outburst that went viral on YouTube.
But a Galliano spokeswoman claims the opposite is true, and that Galliano dismissed Zerbib weeks ago due to “apparent irregularities in respect to … financial affairs.” (Side note: even if this is true, and we’re interested to see the evidence, accusing a Jewish employee of financial misconduct may not help Galliano rehabilitate his image.
Galliano will presumably find new counsel pronto, since he faces a court hearing next week. His anti-Semitic comments violated hate-speech laws in France, where the comments were made, making the designer subject to up to sixth months in prison and a fine of roughly $33,000.
A judge is expected to set a trial date by May 12.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
