Former New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind sharply attacked the decision by a court to release the alleged vandal behind a series of antisemitic defacements of Bronx synagogues.
“This is so horrible. Forty-two charges and the guy walks free?” Hikind said in an interview with Breitbart.
Hikind, who is the founder of the Jewish advocacy group Americans Against Antisemitism, said that the ruling was outrageous and must have been seen as a joke by the perpetrator.
“He’s laughing,” he said. “It is a horrible message to send out there: ‘Anti-Semites you can go and do your swastikas’; ‘you can go break (synagogue) windows’; ‘my G-d, there’s so much you can do and you’ll just walk free.’”
Hikind added that he does not think that the alleged vandal will ever be convicted. “I guarantee you nothing will happen to this guy, even later on,” he said. “This is the way the criminal justice system is today.”
Hikind spoke of the hypocrisy when it comes to attacks against the Jewish community, noting that “if it was four black churches, I don’t think you’d have the same results.”
He blasted the silence of New York’s politicians who have not spoken up about the incident.
“Where are all the politicians in New York? All the Democrats? All the progressives? Have you heard a word from any of them? Absolute silence,” he said.
Earlier in the week, the alleged vandal was released after a court ruled he could not be held on bail due to the state’s new bail reform law.