Kalman Yeger Crushes Yoni Hikind In Orthodox Brooklyn Council War

By Dave Goldiner November 8, 2017

Kalman Yeger won a landslide victory over Yoni Hikind in the bitter battle for a heavily ultra-Orthodox City Council district in Brooklyn’s Boro Park neighborhood.

Yeger, a former aide to outgoing councilmemeber David Greenfield, had 67% of the vote to Hikind’s 29% with all precincts reporting.

One of the hardest fought/nastiest races, between Kalman Yeger and Yoni Hikind in Borough Park, turned out not particularly close – 69%-27% Yeger

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)
I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Email(Required)

— Erin Durkin (@erinmdurkin) November 8, 2017

The nasty race unfolded when Greenfield handpicked Yeger to be his successor after being tapped to lead the Met Council, a leading Jewish charity.

It soon turned into a proxy war between longtime rivals Greenfield and Brooklyn Orthodox power broker Dov Hikind, whose son, Yoni, jumped into the race to challenge Yeger.

The race turned ugly with allies of both men trading insults on social media. Yeger fans noted that Yoni Hikind is unmarried, which is unusual in the Orthodox community.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO