LOUDONVILLE — A Baptist state representative from Loudonville has been recognized for his staunch defense of Israel.
“My defense of Israel into my third term here has evidently raise enough eyebrow or enough notice to consider me for this position,” Rep. Darrell Kick (R-Loudonville) said. “I wear an Israel-American flag pin everyday.”
Gov. Mike DeWine recently appointed Kick to the Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission. Kick’s term began June 30, and he will serve on the commission until Dec. 31, 2022.
“It’s kind of a new thing that we’re getting going here, so we’re going to be the guinea pigs, if you will, to see if it works well and get it on its feet and understand how we can help get grants,” Kick said.
The Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission was created on December 9, 2020, to collect and disseminate information about the Holocaust and genocide and to fill gaps in current education programs.
Kick is currently serving his third term in the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 70th district, which includes Ashland County and parts of Medina and Holmes counties.
Kick said his work related to Israel stems from personal religious beliefs as well as professional development goals, noting Israel’s agricultural technology.
In 2019, Kick sponsored HCR 11, a symbolic measure to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli state. Kick introduced the resolution with Rep. Candice Keller (R-Middletown) in response to then-President Trump’s announcement of formal recognition Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Kick said
“Whether you liked the former president or not, we had many presidents both Republican and Democrat, who promised to declare that and move our embassy and nobody ever did it, and our former president did,” Kick said, noting that the legislation was to serve as an acknowledgement that Ohio lawmakers agreed with the decision.
Israel and Palestine have long held competing claims to Jerusalem, and several world leaders criticized Trump’s decision, citing fears that it would escalate the Israeli and Palestinian conflict.
The latest Israel-Palestinian clashes began when Israel blocked Palestinian gatherings at the beginning of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, and fighting continued when Israeli settlers evicted Palestinians from an east Jerusalem neighborhood.
Ohio saw protests over these recent clashes.
Through the commission, Kick hopes he and others can ensure the history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict is taught.
“I think probably one of the biggest (goals), and I don’t know yet if we’ll get into it or not but, the relationship between Israel and Palestine is such a tough one, so divisive,” Kick said.
Anti-semitic incidents in the United States more than doubled during the May 2021 military conflict between Israel and Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, and its immediate aftermath, compared to the same time period in 2020, according to ADL’s Center on Extremism.
Ohio, specifically, has also seen a rise in anti-semitic incidents in recent years.
Ohio had a record-high 43 anti-Semitic incidents in 2020, up from 25 in 2019, according to ADL’s annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. These numbers include criminal and non-criminal incidents of harassment, vandalism and assaults against people and groups as reported to ADL by victims, law enforcement and the media.
Kick thinks building relationships can help prevent future discrimination and violence based on identity, he said.
“It’s hard to stay mad at people that you’ve developed relationships with,” Kick said. “It’s easy to cast discursions and throw stones at people you don’t know or are afraid of or never got to know. So, I’m a big believer in relationships.”
Discussing what many have called divisive concepts in school has been a country-wide debate in recent months. State lawmakers in several states have proposed legislation regarding how race should be taught in schools, specifically banning educators from discussing topics such as structural racism and implicit bias.
One of Kick’s most recent sponsored bills, House Bill 327, intends “to prohibit teaching, advocating, or promoting divisive concepts,” and applies to school districts, state agencies and state colleges.
“Those are the types of topics, we’ll see if they even come up (in the Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission),” Kick said. “I don’t know. Those are heavy ones to discuss, but they need to be discussed.
“I look forward to the opportunity, but I don’t know how much we’ll get into with that.”
The commission comprises two appointed members from the majority and minority parties of the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives, eight governor-appointed members, the superintendent of public instruction, the chancellor of higher education and the director of veterans services.
“(Kick’s) appointment was made by the Governor in consultation with the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, who recommended Representative Kick,” Dan Tierney, press secretary for the Ohio governor’s office, wrote in an email to Ashland Source.
Ohio House Speaker Bob Cupp (R-Lima) did not respond to Ashland Source’s interview requests.
DeWine also appointed State Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, to the Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission. Others appointed to the commission include Yona Klein of University Heights (Cuyahoga Co.), Anne Lukawiec Lukas of South Euclid (Cuyahoga Co.), Sarah Lynn Weiss of Cincinnati (Hamilton Co.) and Mark Swaim-Fox of Cleveland Heights (Cuyahoga Co.).
Kick currently serves on several committees — agriculture and conservation, civil justice, energy and natural resources, finance — and the finance subcommittee on agricultural development and natural resources.
Prior to his work as a state representative, Kick served four years as president of the Holmes County Farm Bureau and was elected to the Loudonville Farmers Equity Board for nine years, according to his biography. He also previously worked for Congressperson Bob Gibbs out of the Ohio offices as a field representative and district director.
Aside from his work in government, Kick is a sixth-generation farmer and currently works as a farmer on a 400-acre grain, beef and hay family farm near Loudonville. He also owns investment properties through Mohican Rentals LLC and West Side Realty Management LLC.
Kick belongs to a Baptist church, the Ashland Cavalry Baptist, and had previously served as deacon and treasurer at Loudonville Baptist Temple.
