NY State Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) met this evening with U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell to personally thank the Ambassador for his vital role in removing a Nazi from the United States. Last month, at the request of President Trump, Jakiw Palij, a Nazi war criminal living in Queens, NY, was picked up by Federal immigration authorities and put on a plane to Germany. The removal of Palij followed more than a decade of protests by Hikind and others regarding Palij being allowed to remain in the U.S., despite his war crimes and status as an illegal alien. This last year, Hikind focused on bringing Palij to President Trump’s attention. Ambassador Grenell’s role in the deportation was essential, said Hikind.

“The Ambassador and I have remained in touch and his current visit to the UN was a perfect opportunity to meet and allow us to express our community’s gratitude for everything that he’s done,” said Hikind, who presented the Ambassador with a shofar that survived the Holocaust. A shofar is the ram’s horn that is sounded on Rosh Hashanah to herald in the Jewish New Year.

“On behalf of all Holocaust survivors, I thanked the Ambassador for heeding our request and helping to remove the Nazi from American soil,” said Hikind. “Ambassador Grenell shared the fascinating details of what it took to convince Germany to accept Palij, who is not a German national, and to finally deport this Nazi war criminal. While he was following President Trump’s mandate in this matter, this monumental accomplishment required true leadership and determination. It was clearly very personal to Ambassador Grenell.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)