The New York Observer covers the reaction of the Daily Show to NYS Assemblymember Dov Hickind’s “black basketball player” Purim costume.
Hikind who has totally defended his choice for the usually whimsical holiday telling the New York Times, “The main objective that I have is not to be recognizable. Of course the intention was not to offend anyone. That’s the last thing that I ever imagined that would happen, to be very honest. It never crossed my mind.”
Clearly he’s never heard of Ted Danson.
NYO: “If you live in the New York area, you may be familiar with State Assemblyman Dov Hikind,” the show’s host, Jon Stewart, began as he ticked off allegations of anti-Semitism Mr. Hikind has leveled against others. “Some of this may seem like a bit of an overreaction, but the guy is standing up for a group, whenever he feels this group has been unfairly maligned or held up for ridicule. So what’s he been up to lately?”
He played a clip of a local news broadcast covering the costume controversy, causing Mr. Stewart to lower his head and gasp, “Oh boy.”
After rattling off a few jokes, Mr. Stewart transitioned to a second segment where Jessica Williams, the show’s “Senior Purim Correspondent,” blasted Mr. Hikind and the Jewish community writ large for failing to pay enough respect to “the tenth most-important Jewish holiday there is.”