Dov Hikind

Dov Hikind (born June 30, 1950) is an American politician in the state of New York. He is a Democratic New York State Assemblyman. Hikind represents Brooklyn's Assembly district 48. He has held this position since 1983 and has been very vocal about racial profiling, terrorism, and antisemitism in his district, which includes Borough Park, home to one of the largest Orthodox Jewish communities outside of Israel. Hikind hosted a weekly talk radio show every Saturday night at 11:00 on WMCA-AM 570, discussing various local, national, and international concerns. His last broadcast on WMCA was in the summer of 2013. The Dov Hikind Show now airs on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm EST on 620 AM, WSNR.^[1]

Background and family

Hikind grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. His father was a devout follower of the Vizhnitz Hasidic dynasty.^[2]

He is married and has three children - Yoni, Shmuel, and Deena. Yoni and Shmuel both work as LMSW's in the Jewish community in Brooklyn, NY.

Politics

Hikind is a conservative Democrat and a member of the Assembly of New York. He endorsed Mayor Bloomberg for mayor the first two times, but endorsed Bill Thompson for Mayor in 2009.^[3] Hikind has broken ranks with his party before, most notably in his endorsement of Republican candidates George Pataki for governor in 1994, George W. Bush, John McCain, and Mitt Romney for president. His endorsements have drawn criticism from Democratic voters who question his political stance as Hikind has grown increasingly conservative. Hikind has been a guest in many right-wing radio show programs.^[4] Hikind expressed interest in the special election for the New York's 9th congressional district seat vacated by Anthony Weiner; Hikind did not expect the Democrats to nominate him and considered running as a Republican.^[5]

Views on issues

Racial profiling

Hikind has urged the New York Police Department to implement a policy of racial profiling in subway bag searches, which would affect individuals who appear to be Muslim. He held up photos of Muslim men at a news conference and said: "The individuals involved [in terrorism] basically look like this. Why must police think twice before examining people of a particular group?" ^[6] Hikind defends this policy on the grounds that it would work far more effectively to combat terrorism than the current policy, instituted in 2004, which uses random bag searches.

Searches based on racial profiling have been called racist and demeaning by civil rights groups. The NYPD released a statement against Hikind's proposal of racial profiling, saying that "Racial profiling is illegal, of doubtful effectiveness, and against department policy".^[7]

Subway security

He was responsible for bringing the allocation of $1.2 million in a project that helped to provide 120 closed-circuit television cameras to nine South Brooklyn subway stations. These funds, which would provide camera security in contrast to many other stations in the five boroughs, were granted because the neighborhoods they were installed in, that being Borough Park, Midwood, Kensington, and Parkville, all had large Jewish populations, and Hikind said the project was prompted by "concerns that the Jewish community would be targeted" by terrorists.^[8] Hikind encouraged politicians to do the same in other subway stations, which now lag behind those of his community. A New York Times article revealed that the MTA had granted close to $600 million in funds for security to stations in New York City in late 2002; however, only a small fraction of it had been used productively by 2005.^[9]

The Passion of the Christ

In 2003, Hikind and a group of supporters protested Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ. He led about 50 Jewish leaders and supporters to the Fox News offices in Manhattan in a demonstration, chanting "The Passion is a lethal weapon against Jews."^[10] Hikind was vocal in his anger against the movie, stating: "It will result in anti-Semitism and bigotry. It really takes us back to the Dark Ages ... the Inquisition, the Crusades, all for the so-called sin of the Crucifixion of Jesus."'^[11]

Yassir Arafat

In 2001, Dov Hikind argued that Madame Tussauds Wax Museum should remove its wax statue of the Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat, claiming that he was a terrorist whose image should not be in New York.^[12]

Zionism

As the son of Holocaust survivors, Hikind considers their experiences to be an important component of his Zionist views. Hikind was a follower^[13] of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane's Jewish Defense League, which has been identified as "a right wing terrorist group" by the FBI,^[14] knew Rabbi Kahane very well, and is active in right-wing Jewish causes. Among his early activities were demonstrations demanding the right to emigrate for Soviet and Syrian Jews. In the summer of 2005, Hikind visited the settlements of Gush Katif to express his concern for the residents who were slated to be expelled from their homes. In the summer of 2006, along with a group of fellow legislators and community leaders, Hikind visited northern Israeli communities during the time of the Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israel. He and his group spent the time there distributing funds and material aid.

United Nations

Hikind is part of a group of New York state legislators that has consistently blocked plans to renovate United Nations headquarters, calling the UN anti-American and anti-Israel.^[15]

Same-sex marriage

After voting against a same-sex marriage bill in the New York State Assembly, Hikind claimed that same-sex marriage can lead to the acceptance of incest, maintaining that, "If we authorize gay marriage in the state of New York, those who want to live and love incestuously will be five steps closer to achieving their goals as well."^[16] On June 15, 2011, after the New York State Assembly passed a bill to legalize gay marriage, Hikind said gay marriage is wrong in the eyes of God.^[17]

Views on a criminal incident

Hikind voiced support for five Jewish teenagers who were charged with hate crimes for allegedly beating a Muslim man while shouting racial slurs at him. Hikind insisted that it was actually the victim who provoked the teenagers.^[18] The Muslim community later organized an event that emphasized unity, and invited Hikind to the gathering.^[18]

David Irving letter

On October 20, 2009, at the insistence of Hikind and twelve other New York State and City officeholders, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault, American Express rescinded its Merchants Agreement with prominent Holocaust denier David Irving.^[19]

Legal issues

Federal investigation

Hikind was charged by federal authorities after multiple Jewish organizations were charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in government funds which were supposed to be used for children's services.^[20] Some of this money, investigators maintained, was used to pay for Hikind's personal expenses. According to documents, the organizations' funds were diverted to pay for Hikind's trip to Israel, and the school tuition for his daughter and niece.^[20] The United States Attorney in Brooklyn charged Hikind and several other defendants with various felonies and misdemeanors in connection with the investigation. Hikind was acquitted of all charges by a jury.^[21]

Controversy

Black Face Purim Costume

On February 25, 2013, it was revealed that Hikind appeared in blackface at a Purim event the previous weekend, saying 'I was just, I think, I was trying to emulate, you know, maybe some of these basketball players',^[22] further saying 'I can’t imagine anyone getting offended.'

On February 26, Hikind appeared on a local radio show hosted by Zev Brenner, during which he condemned the reaction to his costume, and asked if it would be acceptable for him to dress up as a "gay man" next year.^[23]

References

External links

• Assemblyman Dov Hikind's Official blog
• Assemblyman Dov Hikind's Official New York Assembly member website
• "Same as the Old Dov"
• "Hikind Stands By Call To Employ Racial Profiling In Subway Searches"
• "Opinion Article About Israelis In School Paper Is Denounced"