Dov Hikind

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Dov Hikind (born June 30th, 1950) is an American politician in the state of New York. He is a Democratic New York State Assemblyman. Hikind is an Orthodox Jew representing Brooklyn's Assembly district 48 which has many Orthodox Jews living in it. 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. Hikind hosts a weekly talk radio show every Saturday night, which discusses various local, national, and international concerns.

Hikind is married and has three children.

Contents 1 Politics 2 Terrorism 2.1 Racial profiling 2.2 Subway security 3 Anti-Semitism 3.1 The Passion of the Christ 3.2 Yassir Arafat 3.3 Zionism 4 Controversies 4.1 Federal Investigation 4.2 Controversial views on a criminal incident 4.3 Same-sex marriage and homosexuals 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Politics

Hikind is a Democrat and a member of the Assembly of New York.

He has endorsed Mayor Bloomberg for mayor and remains a strong leader of the Orthodox Jewish community. Bloomberg and he have a good political friendship, as Hikind helped Bloomberg achieve greater popularity in the Jewish community.^[1] Hikind has broken ranks with his party before, most notably in his endorsement of Republican candidates George Pataki for governor in 1994, and George W. Bush 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 ^[2] and has been seen by some as a disciple of Jewish extremist Meir Kahane.^[3]

[edit] Terrorism

[edit] Racial profiling

Dov Hikind has a unique viewpoint concerning random bag searches by the New York Police Department (NYPD), which were implemented in 2004 to find illegal contraband inside the bags and containers of subways riders. Dov Hikind urged the New York Police Department to implement a policy of racial profiling, which would search individuals who appear to come from Middle Eastern or Muslim backgrounds. He defends this policy on the grounds that it would work far more effectively to combat terrorism than that of the current policy, 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 for terrorists). He believes that the terrorist profile (that of Arab-American Muslims) should be targeted as it is the one currently engaged in terrorism in current world events.

[edit] 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 subway stations along the D, F, and N lines. These funds, which would provide lavish 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, which he claimed were "being targeted" by terrorists.^[4] Hikind encouraged politicians to do the same in other subway stations, which now lag behind those of his community. A New York Times article ^[5]revealed that the M.T.A 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.^[5]

[edit] Anti-Semitism

[edit] The Passion of the Christ

In 2003, Dov Hikind and a group of supporters protested Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ, claiming that it was filled with inflammatory anti-Jewish themes. He led about 50 Jewish leaders and supporters to the Fox News Corp. offices in Manhattan in a demonstration, chanting "The Passion is a lethal weapon against Jews."^[6] Hikind was vocal in his anger against the movie, saying: "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." Contrary to these claims, the film did not result in any acts of hate against Jews, but Gibson's later rants while being arrested for DWI in Malibu lent weight to suspicions of the director's anti-Semitism.

[edit] 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.^[7] Although he argued his case with a great amount of passion and anger, many people did not support the idea of censoring the museum for political reasons.

[edit] Zionism

As a child of Holocaust survivors, Hikind considers their experiences to be an important component of his Zionist views. Hikind was a follower of Rabbi Meir Kahane's Jewish Defense League, 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. 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.^[8] In spite of such calls, the UN recently announced that it will undergo a $1 billion dollar makeover.^{[9][10][11][12]}

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Federal Investigation

Hikind was closely investigated 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.^[13] Some of the money, as investigators maintain, 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 Hikind's daughter and niece.^[14] The United States Attorney in Brooklyn considered whether to indict Hikind because of the matter.^[15] Hikind was subsequently acquitted of the corruption charges by a jury.^[16]

[edit] Controversial views on a criminal incident

Hikind voiced support for five Jewish teenagers who were charged with hate crimes when they pummeled a Muslim man while shouting racial slurs at him. Hikind insisted that it was actually the victim who provoked the teenagers. ^[17] The Muslim community later organized an event that emphasized unity, and invited Hikind to the gathering. Other invitees included national groups who contend that the rising number of hate crimes against Muslims can be linked with government policies towards Muslims.^[18]

[edit] Same-sex marriage and homosexuals

After voting against a same-sex marriage bill in the New York State, Hikind caused controversy by paralleling same-sex marriage to incest. While many Democratic officials do not oppose same-sex marriages, Hikind maintained 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."^[19]

[edit] See also

• New York State Assembly
• List of Jewish-American politicians

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Assemblyman Dov Hikind 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
• New York State Democratic Committee Biography.

Preceded by Samuel Hirsch

New York State Assembly, 48th District 1983 – present

Incumbent