New York, NY - At a press conference today to denounce the anti-Semitic remarks by former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Senator Eric Adams, and Holocaust-survivor Edith Cohen gathered outside Kissinger Associates Inc.
in Manhattan to demand a formal apology from “pig” and “self-hating Jew” Kissinger to the Jewish community.
At the conference, Hikind also called on Mayor Bloomberg to return the 2010 Henry A. Kissinger Prize which Bloomberg received for “his unique and lasting contributions to strengthening the transatlantic relationship.”
In a letter to Bloomberg, Hikind wrote:
“As a nationally and internationally renowned and respected political and business figure, it behooves you to distance yourself from the words and deeds of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who has been quoted as saying, ‘The emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy. And if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union, it is not an American concern. Maybe a humanitarian concern.’
In the wake of the revelation of Mr. Kissinger’s callous and cavalier remarks about the fate of Soviet Jewry, I am respectfully asking you to return the prize and in so doing, send a powerful message to Mr. Kissinger that you do not condone his statements.
On behalf of an outraged Jewish community and concerned citizens the world over, I urge you to do the right thing and renounce this award.”
“We all have a duty to stand up to Anti-Semitism, in both our public and our personal lives. Henry Kissinger’s recently revealed remarks, suggesting the genocide of Soviet Jews would not be an American concern, are shocking. Mr. Kissinger should immediately issue an apology which, while decades overdue, is all too necessary given the callousness of his words,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer stated “When Russian Jews fled Soviet-era oppression through emigration, they brought with them generations of future New Yorkers. These New Yorkers would go on to transform our society through invention, innovation and creativity. Try – if you can – to imagine where our society would be without the contributions of these brave emigrants.
That’s why I was appalled by Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s comments that the emigration of Russian Jews—after decades of brutal oppression—was not an objective of American foreign policy. And I was infuriated by his additional comments—that even if the Soviets were to put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union “it is not an American concern.” We stand unified in our condemnation of these hateful remarks”.
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