EXCLUSIVE: Former NY Assemblyman Dov Hikind Slams Hochul’s ‘Pathetic’ Attack on DeSantis at Holocaust Event

Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D) blasted Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) for “trying to score political points with the progressive flank of the Democratic Party” after she used a Holocaust education event to attack Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

In a statement to Breitbart News on Sunday, Hikind blasted the Democrat governor’s “pathetic” remarks, which took place during a bill signing tied to Holocaust education in New York schools.

“Governor Hochul’s unwarranted attack on Governor DeSantis while lauding her signing of a Holocaust bill was pathetic and has no place in the context of supposedly working to stamp out hatred,” Hikind said.

WATCH: NY Governor Kathy Hochul uses a Holocaust event to beg Jewish people to not move to Florida and take swipes at DeSantis pic.twitter.com/WKmgCFiMmR

— Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) August 12, 2022

Hikind, who heads the Americans Against Antisemitism watchdog, called out Hochul for having “never asked herself why Jews, among many others, have fled New York State for Florida in droves rather than the reverse.”

“As far as I know there hasn’t been a mass Jewish exodus from Florida to New York and the reason may have something to do with the fact that the state of New York leads the nation in terms of anti-Jewish hate crimes and violence!” Hikind exclaimed.

Accusing Hochul of “taking a cheap shot at DeSantis and trying to score political points with the progressive flank of the Democratic Party,” he suggested she deal with the “unprecedented wave of antisemitism plaguing our state” instead.

Hikind concluded by calling on the governor to apologize, “otherwise she will have disgraced and discredited herself in her bid for re-election.”

“Saying ‘Never Again’ is nice, but she should act like she means it by focusing on what matters rather than competing with a Governor who has proven to be one of the greatest friends the Jewish people have in this country,” he said. “Shame on Hochul!”

On Wednesday, speaking at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan, Hochul addressed the nearly two million Jewish Americans residing in New York State, calling on them to stay put as she took a swing at the Sunshine State and DeSantis.

“I just want to say to the 1.77 million Jews who call New York home: Thank you for calling New York home; don’t go anywhere or to another state,” she said.

“Florida is overrated,” she added. “I shouldn’t say this, but look at the governor. It starts at the top down.”

Many hit back at the governor’s “cheap” remarks.

DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw pointed to the high levels of antisemitic attacks in New York for the reason Jews are “fleeing” to Florida, adding that “it is NOT a laughing matter.” 

“Fix your own state instead of lobbing cheap attacks at others,” she said.

“There is a good reason the Jewish community, & many New Yorkers, are flocking to Florida in droves,” wrote Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn). “The governor should stop playing politics with Jewish lives and start making changes to bring New York back to the prosperous, safe place it once was.”

“It takes a special brand of hubris to spew hatred in the middle of an introduction for a Holocaust survivor,” wrote Republican Joe Pinion.

Democrat-run New York has seen a record-high number of antisemitic hate crimes.

According to an annual report published earlier this year by the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency, while major U.S. cities saw the largest upticks in antisemitic incidents, New York recorded a whopping 100 percent increase in 2021.