THE HAGUE, the Netherlands (JTA) — Holland’s deputy premier condemned an anti-Semitic comment about Barbra Streisand made on Dutch television by a local singer.
Singer Cornelis Willem Heuckeroth, better known as Gordon, told an interviewer for the AT5 television network last week that Streisand, the iconic Jewish-American actress and singer, had come to the Netherlands to perform on June 6 because “she wants to earn money, which is a Jewish trait.”
“Quite typical for Jews,” he added. “It’s a good idea to scrape some more money.”
Gordon also said, “I would do the same thing.”
Deputy Premier Lodewijk Asscher, who has Jewish roots, according to the daily Het Parool, wrote on Twitter that the Dutch singer was “unfit to be a role model.”
Asscher later spoke by phone with editors at the RTL television and radio network, which has employed Gordon for several years as the anchor of television shows, according to the De Gelderlander daily, and told them he wanted to meet with Gordon in person about his responsibilities as a television personality.
Gordon was quoted by De Gelderlander as saying he is not anti-Semitic.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
