Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism called on Jews to leave New York after the election victory of Muslim Zokhran Mamdani as mayor of the city. According to him, the city will be led by a "supporter of Hamas," DW reports.
Amichai Shikli, Israel's Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, called on Jews living in New York to return to their homeland after the victory of 34-year-old Muslim Democrat Zokhran Mamdani in the mayoral elections in New York City.
"The city, once symbolizing universal freedom, has handed over the keys of power to a supporter of Hamas, whose position is not so far from that of the jihadist fanatics who killed three thousand New Yorkers 25 years ago," Shikli wrote on his page on X on Wednesday, November 5.
In his opinion, "New York will never be the same, especially for its Jewish community," so its representatives should "seriously consider making the Land of Israel their new home." "New York is heading with its eyes wide open into the abyss that London has plunged into," Shikli added.
Jews of New York
The city is home to about 1.3 million Jews, the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel. Mamdani has referred to the current government in Israel as an "apartheid regime" and the war in Gaza as "genocide." At the same time, he has not commented on Hamas.
Shikli's opinion on Mamdani was also supported by Israel's Minister of National Security and leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party ("Jewish Power"), Itamar Ben-Gvir. "Antisemitism has triumphed over common sense. Mamdani is a supporter of Hamas, an enemy of Israel, and a notorious antisemite," AFP quoted him as saying.
Mamdani's Victory in the New York Mayoral Election
The city elections took place on November 4. With nearly 98% of the votes counted, Mamdani, who was nominated by the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party, achieved victory, garnering about 50.4% of the votes. In second place with 41.6% of the votes was independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, whom U.S. President Donald Trump urged people to vote for, threatening to cut city funding. Cuomo served as governor of New York from 2011 to 2021 but resigned after allegations of sexual harassment and then lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani.
Trump also referred to Mamdani, a supporter of leftist views, as a communist. The president claimed that the politician's ideas would harm the city. In particular, he proposed freezing rent for housing, introducing free rides on city buses, universal preschool education, and opening a network of municipal grocery stores. Mamdani plans to fund his projects by raising taxes on the wealthy and corporations.
