This week, Dov Hikind – a long-time Brooklyn Democratic politician and activist – announced his departure from the Democratic Party and his new affiliation as a self-identifying Republican.
His announcement came in the midst of the Democrats’ ideological shift to the left, which has caused many traditionalists within the party to become increasingly fed up and more politically aligned with their opposition.
Hikind represented his Brooklyn neighborhood for three dozen years in the New York State Assembly and later founded Americans Against Antisemitism.
“It’s official: My wife and I have switched our party affiliation from Democrat to Republican!” he 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’s post included a video of him and his wife, Shani, both explaining why they left the Democratic Party to join the GOP.
“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.”
Hikind added that his now-former party “turns its back on its friends like Israel” as he went on to criticize the Biden administration for its hostile 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’s declaration came the day after a group of far-left Democrats boycotted Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s speech. Herzog was invited to address a joint meeting of Congress to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Israel’s establishment. In his speech, he subtly criticized certain House members for their recent condemnations of Israel, Fox News added.
“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.”
Last week, Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., sparked controversy by referring to Israel as a “racist state.” Despite backtracking on her comments to some extent, her remarks drew fierce criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
Earlier this month, another Democrat fed up with her party’s direction bailed and became a Republican.
“Mesha Mainor – a Democrat who has represented District 56 in the Georgia state House since January 2021 – will announce shortly before noon Tuesday that she will switch her party registration to Republican,” Fox News reported exclusively.
Mainor told Fox News that when she decided to stand up for disadvantaged children or support safe communities by refusing to defund police forces, her Democrat colleagues did not back her, instead they abandoned her.
Mainor went on to say that “for far too long, the Democrat Party has gotten away with using and abusing the black community” adding further that this decision was not political but moral.
These declarations highlight an issue within today’s current political climate: The growing divide between those who value traditional values over progressive ideals.
Erica Carlin is an independent journalist, opinion writer and contributor to several news and opinion sources. She is based in Georgia.
