Thursday, a well-known Jewish leader who had a lengthy career as a Democrat New York lawmaker and currently heads a group dedicated to combatting antisemitism revealed that he would be leaving the political party he has been affiliated with for his entire life, the Democrats, and will instead become a Republican. He explained that he believes the Democrats have become too extreme and have abandoned the Jewish people.
“It’s official: My wife and I have switched our party affiliation from Democrat to Republican!” Dov Hikind, who spent 36 years in the New York State Assembly and later founded Americans Against Antisemitism, tweeted.
“[People] have long been asking, ‘Dov, when are you gonna leave the Democratic Party?’ Well, the time has come [because] the Dems have turned their back on Jews & Israel, so it’s officially done!”
Hikind shared a tweet that showed a video of him and his wife, Shani, discussing their choice to become members of the Republican Party.
“I have been a lifelong Democrat — my family, my parents. But that’s over. That’s finished,” said Hikind. “I have decided to register as a Republican. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has become so radicalized … that people who are moderates or conservative Democrats are not welcomed in the Democratic Party, and I’ve had enough.”
IT’S OFFICIAL: My wife and I have switched our party affiliation from Democrat to Republican!
Ppl have long been asking, “Dov, when are you gonna leave the Democratic Party?”
Well, the time has come bc the Dems have turned their back on Jews & Israel, so it’s officially done! pic.twitter.com/VAlGaaALDO
— Dov Hikind (@HikindDov) July 20, 2023
Hikind added the Democratic Party “turns its back on its friends like Israel,” criticizing the Biden administration for its policies toward the Jewish state.
“I am delighted to join the Republican Party,” Hikind added. “This is about sending a message — a message to the Biden administration, a message to the Democratic Party. We’re losing the American people because you are not representing our values. You are not representing the Democratic Party that my parents were so proud of.”
Hikind made the announcement the day after some progressive Democrats decided not to attend a speech by Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Herzog spoke in front of Congress to commemorate Israel’s 75th anniversary, and during the speech, he criticized recent attacks on Israel by House members in a subtle manner.
“Criticism of Israel must not cross the line into negation of the state of Israel’s right to exist,” said Herzog. “Questioning the Jewish people’s right to self-determination is not legitimate diplomacy. It is antisemitism. Vilifying and attacking Jews, whether in Israel, in the United States or anywhere in the world, is antisemitism.”
weekend, Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat and the Progressive Caucus Chair, received backlash for referring to Israel as a “racist state.” Despite her partial retraction of the comments, they faced strong criticism from both political parties.
caused a commotion that resulted in a vote on a resolution stating that Israel was not a racist or apartheid state. Almost all Democrats voted in favor of the resolution except for ten individuals, nine of whom voted against it and one who abstained. Jayapal was part of the majority that agreed with the resolution that Israel was not racist.
Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y, reaffirmed her stance of referring to Israel as an “apar, on the same day as Hikind made his announcement. Switching parties has become a recent trend among former and current Democratic lawmakers.
ha Mainor, who has been serving as a Democrat for District 56 in Georgia House since January 2021, recently made an announcement stating that she will change her party affiliation to Republican.
“When I decided to stand up on behalf of disadvantaged children in support of school choice, my Democrat colleagues didn’t stand by me,” Mainor told Fox News Digital at the time. “They crucified me. When I decided to stand up in support of safe communities and refused to support efforts to defund the police, they didn’t back me. They abandoned me.”
