We were warned that the Yeger-Hikind race was going to get nasty. We sent a letter to both camp’s outlining what we believed to be the correct way to run a campaign saying we would stay out of it as long as the sides behaved. We wished both camps well, with the warning that we would be watching closely and if anyone went over the line, they would be called out for it. That day has arrived.
For those not versed in the shadow race being waged on whatsapp and social media, the campaigns have been slugging it out with endorsements and counter endorsements. While that in and of itself is par for the course, the nastiness to which the Yoni Hikind campaign has sunk to over the past few days has hit a shocking new low.
For fear of adding more hurt and pain to the Yeger family, suffice it to say the following: candidates running for office can duke it out and accept the consequences, but families must always remain off limits. It what can only be an act of desperation and a lack of understanding from a single unmarried man, Yoni Hikind has targeted Mr. Yeger’s son and his mother for political gain. That’s simply incomprehensible to us. We don’t pretend to be the arbiter of all things politics, but attacking a candidate over his dealings with his family is a bad strategy, guaranteed to create a public backlash. Last year, the Clinton campaign repudiated those who brazenly attacked Baron Trump. To bring the Yeger family into this is sick and wrong.
Bottom line, children are off limits, period!
Additionally last week the Hikind campaign released a whatsapp video depicting special needs children being used as props in a pro Yoni video. Have they no shame? The fact that the Hikind campaign exploited special needs children for political gain shows shows a breathtaking lack of common sense and human decency.
If the team and advisers chosen by Dov Hikind can’t find their moral compass, how can we expect Yoni to find his?
Anyone who preyed on those children should be fired, immediately. It is unacceptable.
We again call on the two campaigns to stop the personal attacks and play nice. We are all watching.
YWN Editorial Board
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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33 Responses
So far, the site of YWN has been anti-Hikind. Paid ads are one thing. Op-eds are another. I suggest that all op-eds be removed from the site. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If anyone knows negative about the other and wishes to use that in formulating a vote, go ahead. But YWN will not post negative about other candidates, and that is unfair. I would expect a site that prides itself on being a Torahdig resource would be fair, and remove these op-eds.
I can cite plenty of negatives about other candidates. But these opinions are not op-ed material for a yeshivaworld website. This op-ed and the one before it are a bizayon to the site.
disgusting. dont expect an apology it will be like dov apologizing for blackface. just google hikind blackface for those not aware
Someone sent me those images early this morning and my stomach churned. Thank you YWN for staying above the dirt and calling out wrong when it’s needed – like NOW
Wasn’t Yoni a social worker? Isn’t this against anything a social worker could ever fathom? A child?
Oh wait. He lost his license after 4 years.
Wonder why….
This entire election is a bunch of pathetic uneducated “tuna beigels” fighting with each other. 90% of which are not even registered to vote. Bunch of retards ripping each others signs down off the poles and just a bunch of deranged children.
i commend ywn for staying out of this
Shocker. Not. Anyone who knows the people running this campaign knows that this is the tip of the iceberg that they are capable of doing. They will stop at nothing. Everyone is fair game.
Nice of YWN to write that letter last month. I heard Dov Hikind praising YWN on the radio. Was interesting though. he only read a part of the letter. Typical politician only using parts of things to his benefit.
Politics is a dirty filthy business, but Yoni Hikind campaign crossed a really bad line. I commend YWN for standing up for what’s right.
Someone should tell Rav Aron Schechter about this and show him the political ads that the Hikind camp made going after a child. Reason I’m saying this is because Rabbi Schechter just quasi endorsed this behaima.
Wow. Just finished at the FJCC event, and I’m simply going berserk over what happened there. First of all Yoni showed up an hour late, took the microphone as soon as he entered as if he’s the only person speaking there, then addressed the crowd of intellectual leaders with his utter hollowness, couldn’t get a straight word out of his mouth, everything was about partnering with the partners and that he has a warm heart.
As soon as he finished speaking he left the hall, so unclassy, but you blame him?? He can’t face his opponent, can’t face R’ Kalman Yeger speaking.
Then R’ Kalman Yeger stood up and gave a 4 minute address where he spoke about the issues facing us ahead. Clearly showed his true expertise and years of helping deliver the right results.
After that Assemblyman Dov Hikind got up to speak and couldn’t get a positive word out of his mouth. After 32 years in Assembly – all he spoke about at the meeting was against Kalman Yeger, literally putting himself below even Trump-level speech. Just negativity about R’ Kalman Yeger. The crowd of leaders and Askunim were sitting there with their eyes wide open. They couldn’t grasp what was going on, the way Hikind lowered himself to stoop so low.
I literally walked out of there fuming. Dozens of community leaders sitting in one room, and all the Hikinds were able to do to convince those people to vote for team Hikind was speak negatively about opponents and talk nonsense. Sorry Mr. Hikind’s, I won’t fall for this. Brooklyn voters will stand up to this negativity. We won’t allow this to pass as a proper way to campaign. Enough if this nonsense and constant negativity Mr. Hikind. Time to vote in a respectful guy that can represent us in every which way possible. Kalman Yeger – I’m rooting for you!!
I’m not following this on social media so I don’t know exactly what was said. However his seeming lack of experience would rule Hikind out.
However the sleazy underhanded sneaky “smoke filled” back room method in which Yeger was handed the Democrat nomination on a silver platter rules him out as well!
This leaves me to vote for the other candidate Heshy Tischler of the School Choice party.
He has lived in the district for decades, is married with children in yeshiva and will be a positive voice for our community.
I was at that speech. it was unreal. Friends of Dov were staring at him wide wide-eyes. Simply stunning. No idea what happened this morning, but that campaign seems to have had a really rough morning. I guess that’s expected after you attack your opponents child.
The blatant chutzpah written here is shameful. The clear and biased views of this website have created a cloud of mesirah that cannot be retracted. A chillul Hashem displayed by The Yeshiva World in a manner that’s painful to adequately articulate. There aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe how disgusting an article this is. After this election finally ends, the entire world will know how filthy the politics are in Boro Park. The many threats directed at innocent people that would like to vote their conscience, but are verbally abused and forced into voting for whomever the Mosed chooses.
And Jews everywhere and want to know why we are so despised by the world. This here is an example of Jews bashing other Jews on a website that’s supposed to be fair and unbiased.
I’m done reading Yeshiva World as it’s proven to be another “ FAKE NEWS” dishrag.
Be ashamed of yourself.
@MoshePom1993 doesn’t spend even one word condemning the public abuse of a child by the Hikind clan. Talk about being blatantly biased.
By not condemning this, you are complicit in the molestation of a child that took place in public last night.
Good afternoon I read the op Ed regarding the campaign. I am actually not aware of the back and forth and quite frankly I am not sure who to vote for. On the other hand it always bothers me when a politician will bring his child to events for photo ops and discuss how he is a family man etc basically using his family to his advantage but then get upset when someone attacks them. I’m not saying thy should’ve attacked I’m saying Joel them out of the campaign entirely. Don’t use your own children for your benefit and get upset when the opponent uses them for his. Again I don’t know the details of this campaign and this is an issue I have in all political campaigns
yeshiva world should be ashmef of it slef
it should remove this oped
its not a real oped
What a bunch of sanctimonious phonies, the editorial board of YWN is! They are totally silent as to what Yeger did to Chaim Deutsch. You frauds are hush hush about that. No comments about what really happened are allowed thru. Total censorship. Very professional.
Anyone with a half a brain knows, YWN hates anything to do with a Hikind member. Anything to do with Greenfield or who he endorses is kadosh kedashim. No honest discussion necessary. No, Yoni is not perfect, but this site is clearly biased in favor of anything Greenfield. Greenfield is God.
@Ferd
It’s nice to see someone from this shameful community say something to stand up for a “child molestation”. I’m sure this was the straw that broke the camels back for you, right?. Not the other thousands of children that have been physically and mentally abused over the years by the Yeshivas.
Where has the Yeshiva World been all these years in defending “molested children”???. Absolutely nowhere. Because it’s all about whomever pays them the most money to operate. Such disgusting behavior by a trash “publication”
@Not getting involved Another Hikind supporter refusing to condemn the public child abuse by the Hikind Mishpacha last night. You are complicit.
Nothing can be compared to touching a child which is exactly what was done last night.
You are the drgs of society. All of you. And the skeletons are on their way out as to why Yoni lost his social workers license….. Either Dov is such an evil Rasha that he thought no one would ever find out so he has his son run anyways, or has has no clue what the alleged story is.
Somthing spectacular ahead.
Kalman won’t have much of an opponent by next week after the rotten meat starts smelling. Hashem yirachem. What a chillul hashem.
@Sly Like A Fox
You are a prime example of why we don’t have the Bais Hamikdash. The seething hatred you are spewing towards another Jew is honestly painful to see. The immense pain and suffering our ancestors had to go through during the Holocaust, just so that we can be here today to cause such Sinas Chinum would destroy them. How could yidden treat each other this way?
An ywn op-ed repeating the fact of hikind being single is acceptable form of involving family. Mentioning yeger’s alleged actions that don’t exactly represent the actions of a man who respects family is not considered acceptable. I smell a double standard. Something stinks, I will be voting for the school choice guy.
@MoshePom1993 What a faker. You busy blabbering about abuse and making accusations, yet you repeatedly have failed to condemn what Yoni Hikind did last night by abusing a child.
You are clearly guilty of abuse yourself. Kol haposel bemumo posel.
When the story gets out, make sure to get back to us.
@mms601 One campaign attacked a child who is a minor, and an op-ed attacked a grown gay man. Oh shucks. And you’re comparing the two? You are plain evil
which rov has yeshiva world spoken to ,
to have this all on your site
I am not condoning the fact that the Hikind campaign touched the life of a minor in an unimaginable way. Yes he crossed a red line. But can we all just take a step back and look at the facts. Let’s just stay focused on the two candidates. One has offered concrete plans for traffic congestion, housing and schools. The other has stood in front of the crowd slowly uttering his empty words with weird and feminine body motions. This race seems like a no-brainier to me. Yeger is hands down the better candidate. If not for Dov Hikind, nobody would look twice at this ‘interesting’ person of no interest. It’s time to look past the Hikind smoke screen and see the truth that is smacking us in the face. Hikind is a looser before the race begins.
I would not vote for either of these 2 but it is so obvious that each one of those are backed by people that will make money off them. It is so shameful that the interested of the public is not even taken into consideration.
What is even more obvious is that the Yeshiva World is somewhat controlled by David Greenfield, so you can take its “op-ED” for whats its worth – a big gurnisht!
Its a shame we dont have a legitimate candidate for vote for. I think I am going to vote tischler (hirschler? who knows, who cares). Its all about the golden rule anyway, he who has the gold (to put in the right pockets), makes the rules.
I’m not very happy about the way Yeager got the Democratic nomination, but he is clearly the best qualified of the 3 to represent our interests because of his experience and contacts in City government. A protest vote for Tishler will only hurt us.
so is electing a bad candidate. damned if you do, damned if you dont. so, i’ll be damned and vote tischler.
The way Yeger got the nomination handed to him on a silver platter is the ultimate insult to the voting public. Whoever votes for him is just bowing down to the feudal political overlords.
Since I don’t see Hikind as qualified I will vote for Tischler who made a very nice impression at the Hamodia debate last night.
Yeager is a great candidate and would be an outstanding member of City Council. He has more knowledge of City government than many that now serve.
I didn’t waste my time reading all the comments so maybe this point was raised already. I find YWN to be such hypocrites it’s laughable. You excoriate Yoni Hikind but yet you accept his paid for ad on your site. Put your money where your mouth is!
Did I miss something? “If the team and advisers chosen by Dov Hikind can’t find their moral compass, how can we expect Yoni to find his?” Isn’t that bringing in family? I understand that Dov Hikind is a politician but isn’t that a comment that about family? Please clarify.