On Friday, New York mayor Bill de Blasio ripped President Trump for the airstrike on Thursday that killed Qasem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. De Blasio’s comment triggered a withering blast from former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who had previously ripped de Blasio for his inaction targeting anti-Semitism.
De Blasio tweeted, “Worried for our city + our nation. Without the approval of Congress, the US Government effectively declared war on Iran tonight. The American people had no say in the matter, despite voting time + again to stop endless wars + bring our troops home. This one will not end soon.”
Worried for our city + our nation. Without the approval of Congress, the US Government effectively declared war on Iran tonight. The American people had no say in the matter, despite voting time + again to stop endless wars + bring our troops home. This one will not end soon.
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) January 3, 2020
Hikind angrily replied, “That Shabbat when my mother recounted her horrors in Auschwitz, you vowed to always stand up against those who want to harm Jews. No one person posed a bigger threat to the Jewish people than ‘We will wipe Israel off the face of the earth’ Qasem Soleimani. You lied to my mom.”
That Shabbat when my mother recounted her horrors in Auschwitz, you vowed to always stand up against those who want to harm Jews.
No one person posed a bigger threat to the Jewish people than ”We will wipe Israel off the face of the earth” Qasem Soleimani.
You lied to my mom. https://t.co/vGgB2illTL
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) January 3, 2020
Last week, Hikind appeared on Fox & Friends, where he ripped de Blasio for blaming President Trump for the recent rash of anti-Semitic attacks. Hikind named the Jewish communities that had been hit by the attacks, then asserted, “All of these communities: they love the president. They are his greatest supporters.”
De Blasio had stated, “An atmosphere of hate has been developing in this country over the last few years. A lot of it is emanating from Washington and it’s having an effect on all of us.”
Fox News’ Ed Henry interrupted, “Wait, so you’re blaming the president by saying it comes from Washington.”
De Blasio answered, “Not just the president, I’m saying, but we have to be clear: we need a different tone starting in Washington; we had, by the way, with Democrats and Republicans both in the White House, that encourage this country to actually find some unity and some common ground. We haven’t had that the last few years.”
Hikind started his attack on de Blasio by saying:
First off, it’s an excuse. It’s childish. Being in elementary school or kindergarten, you’d blame someone else. He’s the mayor of the city of New York. He is in charge. And isn’t it fascinating that all of these communities that have been victimized by anti-Semitism, unprecedented anti-Semitism, in New York, in neighboring New Jersey now, in Monsey, all of these communities: they love the president. They are his greatest supporters. And by the way, most of them are Democrats. The love the president. So you have these ‘experts,’ like the mayor of New York and the governor; they’re the ‘experts,’ that it is Washington, it is the president that is responsible.
He continued:
It is just not true, and it is an excuse. You’re the mayor; you’re responsible; do your job, which you have not done up until now. Don’t look for excuses. Don’t blame the president. And as I said: Borough Park; Williamsburg; Crown Heights; Monsey: they love —The president’s approval rating in those communities is above 90%. So how dare the mayor insinuate what he’s insinuating.
Fox Host Pete Hegseth asked, “So when those communities, those Jewish communities look at the hate that they’re facing, they’re not looking at right-wing hate or views; they’re looking at something quite different.”
Hikind replied:
It’s not right-wing period, unless you’re blind, unless you want to fool yourself. If you look at those who have perpetrated the hate, we know who they are. Video surveillance; we see who they are: they’re not white people. They’re not alternate-right. Most of them are minorities, so stop—how do you solve a problem if you refuse to acknowledge and deal with the problem. And that’s exactly what the mayor is doing.
The mayor’s a nice guy, he cares about anti-Semitism, but he hasn’t done very much to deal with the problem, and blaming the president? That’s playing to the base. That’s not being honest; that’s being dishonest. But he’s more interested in the politics than he is in dealing with the hate. No American, no New Yorker, should be afraid to walk the streets. No parent should be afraid to let their kids out in the street. This is America.