Americans Against Antisemitism founder Dov Hikind, speaking out on Newsmax, Sunday, about controversial New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, insisted that there "shouldn't be any question" that the state assemblyman is "dangerous for the people of New York and for the Jewish community in particular."
"He has trouble recognizing Israel as a Jewish state," Hikind told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend. "It's very pathetic that any Jewish organization that has any self-respect would permit him or host them in any fashion … why this person is even permitted into an event, for me personally as a proud Jew, it's embarrassing."
Mamdani, a Muslim, on Friday released a video defending himself against claims that he refused to condemn the Holocaust, reports The New York Times.
In the video, he also defended his use of the word "genocide" to describe Israel's actions against Gaza, and claimed that his campaign has proposed spending more money to fight antisemitism than his challengers' campaigns have. Further, he insisted in the video that he would protect Jewish New Yorkers as mayor.
But Hikind called Mamdani "incredibly dangerous," and said that other candidates in the race, some of whom are Jewish, also do not have good records on standing up against antisemitism.
"But Mamdani is in a class by himself," said Hikind. "He is danger personified. Look, he's not going to win the Democratic primary. What concerns me is the fact that he's doing so well. That is a dangerous indication."
Meanwhile, others of the Jewish faith still are not fighting back against hate, including after the shootings last week of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., said Hikind.
"I blame people like AOC [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.] and Bernie Sanders and the rest of that clique," Hikind said. "They have created an atmosphere of Jew hatred. The fact that Bernie Sanders is Jewish means zero. Let's get that clear. People use their Jewishness, and then they hate you."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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