‘A Real Mentch,’ Dov Hikind on Leo Terell’s Appointment to Head Antisemitism Task Force

By Matis Glenn:

Dov Hikind, who has spent almost his entire life in public service and currently runs the Americans Against Antisemitism organization, spoke with Belaaz about the Trump Administration’s recent appointment of attorney Leo Terell to head the newly formed Task Force on Antisemitism. Hikind also shared his own campaign aspirations for the role of Antisemitism Envoy in the new Administration, for which he is a strong contender.

What can you tell us about Leo Terell, recently appointed as head of the Trump administration’s antisemitism Task Force?

I know Leo for a number of years, I’ve had a fabulous relationship with him, and, almost everything that I have put out in public about antisemitism, the issues that I care about that I’ve spent my entire life being involved in. He has always been literally first person to repost and to show support, all the time. When it became public that the position of the anti Semitism envoy… Leo Terell became a big supporter, and he told me he was going to speak to Trump.

The bottom line is this, the guy’s immense. The guy really cares deeply about antisemitism. He’s totally devoted. He totally gets it. One of the things I’ve learned all my life, especially in the last couple of years, where things have gotten really out of control, everybody says they’re against antisemitism. I haven’t met one person who says I’m for it, everybody’s against it. And the truth is that almost everyone, and I’m talking about people in power, that really, they don’t do anything, anything tachlis, to really make a difference, to put a dent on the problem, to make sure that those who are involved in hate crimes against the Jewish people, who those who intimidate… we’re not talking about freedom of speech, we’re talking about those who create a unsafe environment, those who threaten people, those who destroy property, etc… that there has to be consequences for antisemitism.

We, in our group, Americans Against Antisemitism, going back before Oct. 7 did a study and showed that there were basically no consequences, which I think we know even today, sure, with Columbia University, other places, people doing terrible, terrible things, and nobody pays a price. So if you don’t pay a price, and you’re not going to pay a price, you know you’re going to get away with it, then why not do it again? It creates a very dangerous atmosphere.

Leo Terrell, he and I have had conversations about this. He’s a lawyer, he has appeared on Fox, many, many times. And we got to know each other. I have a lot of respect for him, and I look forward to working with him. He is playing a key role now within the Justice Department in dealing with antisemitism at the universities, at the Ivy League schools, and within the school system…there’s a big, big problem. Almost all of our concentration has been with the Ivy League schools, but I know there’s a big problem within the public school systems from New York to you name it, across the country.

Now we have someone like Leo Terell, who is a real mentsch, really gets it, really understands that something dramatic has to happen to deal with this, and that’s exactly what is going to happen. And like I said, I look forward to working with him…that is still to be determined.

What’s the difference between this new Task Force and the Envoy position that was created several years ago, headed by Deborah Libstadt?

The Envoy position was created during the first Trump administration, and Deborah Lipstadt, who is a very nice person…I’ve read her books, but as far as envoy, I have no clue what she’s done. I know she issues press releases, I know she’s come up with some kind of plan, It’s 50 pages, the White House came up with the plan. I remember reading it. It sounded great, but what were the consequences? What happened with the plan? Did anyone take it seriously? Did anyone read it?

Interestingly, the Envoy is devoted specifically to antisemitism all over the world. So let me give you an example. Remember, not long ago there was a terrible situation in Amsterdam, and a terrible thing in Montreal, and I told somebody that if I was the antisemitism Envoy I wouldn’t have just issued a press release here in Washington or Brooklyn. I would have gone there. I would have been there. And there has to be a strategy to deal… as bad as antisemitism is in America, if you look at the numbers in England, Belgium, France and so on and on, you’re talking about an 800% or 1,000% increase, it’s really very, very, very bad.

I’m still competing for the position, and it has not been decided. A lot of people have been supporting me, important people, but Leo is one of the people that has been incredibly public about it, tweeting about it, etc…

My approach would be very different. I’ve spent my entire life being involved in this area, and I’m talking now about going back to my JDL days…A lot of people don’t know, when you say, JDL, Soviet Jewry, all of that…I had someone by my Shabbos table and we’re talking about Soviet Jewry, this is a person in their 20s he said ‘What’s Soviet Jewry?’ Think about it, history is an interesting thing. Forget about knowing history from hundreds of years ago. A lot of people don’t know basic history from 30 years back. I was very, very involved in those days. I was doing my first press conferences when I was 19 years old for JDL on issues that are important to us, and was involved in the fight for Soviet Jewry, and I mean civil disobedience, getting arrested in the Soviet mission, chaining myself, it’s a whole book, believe me, and fighting antisemitism, fighting for Soviet Jewry, for Jewish poor in JDL, doing a lot of public speaking, traveling…I went to Russia in 1973 to protest in Moscow got thrown out of the country.

I’m glad they didn’t keep you in Russia.

Well, I was young. Young people always want to do that. That’s always been my philosophy, to go the extra mile. Talk is very nice. Talk is a beginning, but you got to act. You’ve got to do things. So, you know, I’ve done it all my life as an elected official, for 36 years, everybody knew that I wasn’t a Democrat, I wasn’t a Republican, I was a Jew. My measurement was always what’s good for the people in my community, for the Jewish people, for everybody else. And I think during those 36 years, when I think back and look back and I’m reminded by people all the things that I’ve been involved in. And since I left office, it wasn’t my plan to be involved with antisemitism. But if you go back to last four or five years, antisemitism has just gotten worse and worse to a level that we have never seen in this country. And since October 7, it’s all different ballgame.

If you were the Envoy, what else would you do when you go to these countries?

I would sit with professionals, be tough and be strong in my language and in dealing with people in those countries. First of all, I would work with the Jewish communities in all those places, we would look at the problem. Why is it? And we have the same problem here in many places, in many of the cities, especially those run by Democrats, interestingly, where there’s no consequences, where terrible things happen and nobody does anything.

The bottom line is, Jews are concerned. It’s not just a number. There’s real fear. There shouldn’t be. There’s real fear in the Jewish community. I had a guy at my Shabbos table recently…We have a lot of Shabbos guests in my home. We always have. He’s 20 years old, he was engaged. He davens at a shul out here in Long Island. He told us at the table that when he goes into Manhattan from Long Island, he takes off his yarmulkeh, and that’s something I heard more than once. But here’s a guy in in America, in New York, where there are so many Jews, telling me he takes off his yarmulkeh because he’s afraid, because as soon as he’s wearing it he’s the Jew. He could be Shalom Achshav, he could be the most radical leftist Jew, but to the enemy, he’s a Jew.

We’re not going to get rid of antisemitism, I think everybody knows that, not with Trump, not with anyone. Trump will make a big difference, no question. But will everything be hunky dory? Are we getting rid of antisemitism in the next four years? Absolutely not. We’ve got a new problem with antisemitism on the right! Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, I’ve been watching his videos, not just 30 seconds, but an hour and a half. I don’t know what’s wrong with this guy. He’s had people on his show who are Holocaust deniers. In the old days, we would always speak out about antisemitism on the left, always, and now we have things going on on the right, and it’s pretty silent, pretty quiet. And we’re talking about serious people who have huge followings. And my thing has always been one standard for hate, one standard for anti semitism. I don’t care if you’re right, left, Republican, Democrat, Independent, or anything in between. So look, I’m a person who has always spoken out, always stood up, tried not to be afraid of anything but Hakadosh Baruch Hu, I always tell people I’m only afraid of Hashem, nothing else. Thank G-d. We need someone tough and strong, someone with a more activist approach, like myself. But whatever happens will be good. I am surely not looking for a job; I had a job! I’m not looking to make a living.