The Anti-Defamation League came out storming defence of convicted anti-Semitic designer John Galliano Wednesday proclaiming the disgraced former Christian Dior head an “atoned” character, following a US daily report featuring an image of him in New York apparently mimicking traditional Hasidic ultra Orthodox Jewish dress.
A New York Post article Wednesday featured a paparazzi shot of Galliano on the streets of New York wearing a hat and long dark single breasted coat, with his hair styled in the traditional ringlets often associated with Hassidim.
Refuting the implied connection, however, in a statement, ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman slammed the news piece which was posted under the headline "Shmuck!", insisted the notoriously eccentric designer had “been on a pilgrimage to learn from and grow from his mistakes”, following his infamous dismissal from the Dior helm two years ago amidst prosecution for an anti-Semitic incident in Paris, of which he was later convicted by French courts.
Accusing his detractors of “trying to distort and destroy him”, he insisted the British-born Galliano had “spent hours with me and with others in the European Jewish community, including rabbis and Holocaust scholars, in an effort to better understand himself and to learn from his past mistakes”.
Attacking the allegations as “at the very least, ignorance...at worst, a deliberate, malicious distortion in an effort to sell newspapers”, he insisted that closer inspection of the image disproved any attempt to emulate Hasidic attire, as “Hasidim do not wear fedora hats, pinstripe pants, blue jackets or an ascot tie”.
This isn’t the first time that Foxman has come out as an unlikely advocate for Galliano, after he gave the fallen fashion icon his public backing last month, declaring he had “accepted full responsibility for his previous remarks and understands that hurtful comments have no place in our society”.
Confirming the anti-Semitism campaigning group had met with the designer on several occasions to encourage him to accept responsibility for his widely-condemned actions, Foxman added: “Mr. Galliano has worked arduously in changing his worldview and dedicated a significant amount of time to researching, reading, and learning about the evils of anti-Semitism and bigotry.”
Attempting to a draw a line under continued criticism of the British-born designer, after media reports and a subsequent legal case against him cost him his high profile fashion house post and accompanying accolades, he concluded; “We believe that individuals can change their hearts and minds as long as they demonstrate true contrition.”
A simultaneous statement from Galliano confirmed he “remains committed to making amends to those I have hurt”. His representatives have yet to comment on the latest allegations.
In 2011, a French court ruled that the 51 year-old Paris-based designer had made “public insults based on origin, religious affiliation, race or ethnicity” in several incidents around a bar close to where he lived in the traditionally-Jewish Le Marais region of the city. In one of the incidents, Galliano was accused of proclaiming his love for Adolf Hitler and telling Jewish-looking customers that their mothers should have been gassed. He subsequently blamed his actions on long-term drug and alcohol addictions. Following his conviction by the French court, the French government last year also announced they were revoking his 2009 Legion of Honour medal, as President Francois Hollande signed an official decree refusing him the right to wear the medal.