Dov Hikind Retiring After Controversial 36 Years As New York Lawmaker
Image by Getty Images
New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind announced Wednesday that he would retire after a controversial 36 years in office, Yiddish Nayes reported.
Hikind, an outspoken supporter of Israel, began serving in the Assembly in 1983. His district now covers the heavily-Orthodox Brooklyn neighborhood of Borough Park.
Although a Democrat, Hikind was known for frequently switching sides to back Republicans like Donald Trump, and had some conservative views, such as being anti-gay marriage.
The 67-year-old did not state a reason for his retirement.
A video hagiography put out by Hikind’s office highlights some of his self-proclaimed triumphs.
Hikind assured that he would continue to “fight, stand up, speak out and not be afraid.” He added that he would remain “afraid of God, but nothing else.”
He also thanked those who contributed to his past four decades of representing the Jewish community of Brooklyn.
“I want to thank my constituents—my many friends and neighbors—for these extraordinary 36 years of having the honor to serve them. I thank my parents for instilling genuine Jewish values in me.”
Hikind was perhaps best known nationally for attending a Purim party in blackface, for which he later apologized.
Contact Haley Cohen at [email protected]
It’s our birthday and we’re still celebrating!
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news.
This week we celebrate 129 years of the Forward. We’re proud of our origins as a Yiddish print publication serving Jewish immigrants. And we’re just as proud of what we’ve become today: A trusted source of Jewish news and opinion, available digitally to anyone in the world without paywalls or subscriptions.
We’ve helped five generations of American Jews make sense of the news and the world around them — and we aren’t slowing down any time soon.
As a nonprofit newsroom, reader donations make it possible for us to do this work. Support independent, agenda-free Jewish journalism and our board will match your gift in honor of our birthday!
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
