Tonight, NYC mayoral candidate and NYC Comptroller candidate Scott Stringer join me on The Dov Hikind Show. Also joining me will be Rabbi Mordechai Biser, general counsel of Agudath Israel of America.
"The Dov Hikind Show" 7pm on 620 AM, WSNR.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Distributing Food Packages at COJO with Elsie McCabe Thompson
I had a delightful time this afternoon distributing holiday food packages with Elsie Thompson, the lovely wife of mayoral candidate Bill Thompson. Elsie and I were at the Young Israel of Midwood for COJO (the Council of Jewish Organizations) and the Met Council. The Met Council distributes 5.4 million lbs. of kosher food each year ensuring that needy individuals and families can celebrate the holidays with joy and dignity.
MATERIALS DENYING HOLOCAUST MUST FIND NEW MERCHANTS
NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND
August 27, 2013
HIKIND APPLAUDS MASTERCARD AS
HATE GROUPS EXIT PROGRAM
HATE GROUPS EXIT PROGRAM
MATERIALS DENYING HOLOCAUST MUST
FIND NEW MERCHANTS
FIND NEW MERCHANTS
Assemblyman Hikind (D-Brooklyn) had the highest praise for MasterCard and its executives for educating its merchant banks with regard to doing business with hate groups. Meeting with MasterCard’s top executives this morning, the Assemblyman thanked Richard Santoro, MasterCard Worldwide’s VP of Government Affairs, and Noah J. Hanft, General Counsel and Chief Franchise Integrity Officer for MasterCard Worldwide, for their diligence in addressing this deeply hurtful issue.
Last month, the Assemblyman
called on all of the major credit card companies to withdraw their support from
numerous haters operating in the United States and abroad when it was
discovered that eight Holocaust denial organizations were selling racist,
anti-Semitic and Holocaust Denial products (books, videos) via websites through
credit card sales. Some of the many anti-Semitic and Holocaust-denial
books sold by these organizations include Protocols of the Learned
Elders of Zion, and The Rudolf Report which states, “The
alleged gas chambers of Auschwitz could not have existed.”
“MasterCard was the
first to take this issue seriously,” said Assemblyman Hikind. “Freedom of
speech allows anyone to espouse openly
racist, hateful ideologies, but there’s no need to make it easier for them—and no
cause for a respected credit card and international brand to be associated with
such reprehensible material. I applaud MasterCard for their sensitivity and
respect—for going the extra mile and making the necessary efforts to do the
right thing.”
Unlike in certain
European countries, where selling racist and Holocaust-denial materials is illegal,
hate literature is protected speech in the United States. As such, MasterCard
is limited to “educating” its merchant banks with regard to who they are
issuing merchant accounts to. “But MasterCard has been a Master Educator,” said
Assemblyman Hikind who noted that nearly every hate group that he reported last
month for selling Holocaust Denial products has now been dropped by their individual
merchant banks.
“It’s an important
victory,” said Assemblyman Hikind, the son of Holocaust survivors. “The Jewish
community and anyone interested in historical accuracy owes MasterCard a debt
of gratitude.”
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| Assemblyman Hikind with Noah J. Hanft, General Counsel and Chief Franchise Integrity Officer for MasterCard Worldwide (L) and Richard Santoro, MasterCard Worldwide’s VP of Government Affairs |
Thursday, August 15, 2013
My Endorsement for NYC Mayor
Not surprisingly there are rumors going around regarding who
I will support for NYC’s next mayor. While the attention to my endorsement is
flattering, it should be known that my endorsements of any candidates have
never had anything to do with politics. I have only endorsed candidates who I personally
felt would be best for our community and the issues that are most important to us.
With regards to Bill de Blasio and Bill Thompson (listed
here alphabetically, or by height if you prefer) I believe both of these men would
be great for the Jewish community. They are both men of excellent character and
I have enjoyed both a personal and professional relationship with each of them.
Bill de Blasio and I met when he was running Hillary Clinton’s
campaign for Senate. We had the opportunity then to talk about my commitment to
the Jewish people, to Israel, and to the issues that were vital to our community.
From that day on, Bill and I have continued building a deep friendship.
Bill Thompson and I go back even further—more than 30 years.
I’ve known his family, his father Judge William Thompson Sr., and I have always
had immense respect for Bill’s opinions and his commitment to doing the right
thing.
With both of these men, our differences have never mattered
as much as our common ground. With both men, the Jewish community has received
and will continue to receive respect and sensitivity to the issues that matter
to us. Time and again, both have stood with me on important matters facing
our city and our community. Both have worked with me to combat anti-Semitism
and racism. Both have sat at my Shabbos table with their families and mine.
Bill de Blasio is sensitive to the issues that we care
about. So is Bill Thompson. Either man would make an excellent, caring, responsible
mayor and choosing one over the other will be a very difficult task for me.
But whoever wins the election, our community wins.
But whoever wins the election, our community wins.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Bill de Blasio & Malcolm Hoenlein TONIGHT
"The Dov Hikind Show" 7pm on 620 AM, WSNR.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
DOLAN SUPPORTS HIKIND'S BID TO REMOVE CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO LIBRARY PORNOGRAPHY
NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND
August 7, 2013
Contact: Yehudah Meth For Immediate Release
718-853-9616 (office)
DOLAN SUPPORTS HIKIND'S BID TO REMOVE CHILDREN’S ACCESS TO LIBRARY PORNOGRAPHY
CALLS CHILDREN’S EASY ACCESS TO PORNOGRAPHY
‘SHOCKING AND REGRETTABLE’
‘SHOCKING AND REGRETTABLE’
Archbishop Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan is supporting Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) in a quest to remove children’s access to pornographic materials in New York City Libraries.
Last month,
Assemblyman Hikind and a coalition of concerned parents expressed their shock
and indignation at learning that even the smallest children can easily obtain
inappropriate materials that no retailer would ever allow a child to hold. In a
press conference, Hikind noted that he was not asking for censorship of any
books for adults who wanted them. “The issue is removing these books from the
ready access of children,” he said.
Yesterday,
the Archbishop added his voice to the issue, calling the matter shocking and
regrettable “how easily children are able to attain such pornography.”
“I have
heard back from the various heads of the New York City Libraries,” said Hikind,
“and I am disappointed that they do not seem to see the problem. Rather than
take responsibility and address this, they cite the mission of statement of the
American Library Association which states, in part, ‘Libraries should not limit
the selection and development of library resources simply because minors will
have access to them.’ Again—we are not asking them to limit their collection or
censor their materials—just to remove it from the reach of children!”
Following
complaints by constituents, Assemblyman Hikind’s staff surveyed numerous
branches of the public library in Brooklyn where they found such inappropriate
titles as Best Gay Erotica, Lux’s Practical Erotica Adventure,
and Girls Who Score: Hot Lesbian Erotica, all clearly within reach of
small children.
Under the
library’s current system, children can check out any library book once they are
13 years of age—or even younger if parents did not realize such material was
available when library cards were created for their children. Books can also be
automatically checked out without the likelihood of any interaction with an
adult librarian.
“Because of
the way fiction books are placed on library shelves, inappropriate books often
end up on the very bottom shelves, clearly within reach of the smallest
children,” said Hikind. “This kind of content would never be allowed in schools
nor placed within a child’s reach by retailers. Certainly our public libraries
can do more to keep such books out of the reach of unsuspecting children.”
Assemblyman
Hikind has also called on Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Dr. Merryl Tisch, Chancellor
of the Board of Regents; and Dennis Walcott, Chancellor of the New York City
Department of Education, to address this issue.
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| Even small children have easy access to pornographic books at Brooklyn Public Library branches. |
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
HIKIND DEMANDS DEPT. OF EDUCATION PULL PERMIT FROM NOISY GROUP AT ERASMUS FIELD
NEWS FROM
ASSEMBLYMAN DOV HIKIND
August 5, 2013
Contact: Yehudah Meth
HIKIND DEMANDS DEPT. OF EDUCATION PULL PERMIT FROM NOISY GROUP AT ERASMUS FIELD
NOISE DISRUPTS QUIET COMMUNITY
COMMUNITY BOARD 12 EXPRESSES OUTRAGE
Assemblyman Hikind (D-Brooklyn) has called on Chancellor Dennis Walcott of the Department of Education to rescind a permit granted to a group at Erasmus Field who are disturbing local community members until all hours of the morning. The park—which is surrounded by an otherwise quiet, residential community—sports Fieldturf-style artificial grass with markings for baseball, football, and soccer.
Without consideration for the families that would be disturbed by its
action, the D.O.E. granted a park permit to the International United
Soccer League allowing them to play soccer until midnight, nearly every
night, until September 1. The result: Parents are having difficult times
putting children to bed. Some complain that their small children have
been awoken in a panic by the loud cheers of crowds reacting to soccer
games in the nearby park. As if a midnight curfew weren’t late enough,
the group tends to stay at the park for many hours after their permitted
activities have expired. Residents who live blocks away are
disturbed—how much the more so those who live close by.
“It’s outrageous!” said Assemblyman Dov Hikind. “Why would the D.O.E. be so insensitive as to grant a permit to any group
until midnight in this park? They had no right to do this without first
consulting with the community. Community Board 12 was never contacted.
This neighborhood is made of families with small children who can
clearly hear this noise not only at their children’s bedtimes but also
long, long into the night and even the morning. The D.O.E. made a
mistake and let this group run amok. It’s shameful.”
Assemblyman Hikind said his office has received numerous complaints from
residents and he has reached out to the D.O.E. on behalf of the
community. He is insisting that the “midnight permit” that is allowing
the community families to be disturbed be pulled immediately and that no
further permits beyond 9 pm be issued.
A letter to Chancellor Walcott from Yiddel Perelstein, Chairman of
Community Board 12, and Wolf Sender, District Manager of CB 12, also
expressed outrage at the situation at Erasmus Field.
Erasmus Field is located at 1497 McDonald Avenue.
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| Assemblyman Hikind stands in front of Erasmus Field. |
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