JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL
Israeli government ministers have denounced the election of Zohran Mamdani as the first Muslim mayor of New York City, calling on the city’s Jews to immigrate to Israel.
Democratic candidate Mamdani was elected the mayor of New York City on Tuesday, becoming the first Muslim and South Asian to hold the office.
“The city, which used to be the symbol of world freedom, handed over its keys to a Hamas supporter,” Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said on the US social media company X on Wednesday.
Chikli, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, called Mamdani’s win “a critical turning point” for New York, “a place that became the stronghold of the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel” since the late 19th century.
“I invite the Jews of New York to consider positively determining their new place in the Land of Israel,” he said.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called Mamdani’s election as New York mayor “antisemitism’s triumph over common sense,” labeling the newly elected mayor “a Hamas supporter, a hater of Israel and an avowed anti-semite.”
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also lashed out at Mamdani.
“Mamdani’s inflammatory remarks will not deter us,” Danon said on X, vowing to strengthen ties with Jewish community leaders in New York.
In statements to the local 103 FM radio, Danon claimed that Mamdani’s election can harm the “Jewish community’s sense of security,” as he is directly responsible for the police force.
Mamdani, in pre-election statements, pledged to order the New York Police Department to arrest Netanyahu if he visits the city, honoring an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over the war crimes the premier committed in the Gaza Strip.
He also repeatedly denounced anti-semitism and expressed support for the Jewish community in the city.
“I’ve said at every opportunity that there is no room for antisemitism in this city, in this country. I’ve said that because that is something I personally believe,” he said during his election campaign. He also pledged to build a City Hall, “that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers, and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of anti-Semitism.”
Mamdani, who holds over 50% of the vote in the three-way contest with 91% of the votes counted, enjoys the support of a broad and diverse base of voters, including Jews who reject the Netanyahu government’s policies, particularly during the two years of genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has killed close to 69,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in a brutal assault in Gaza since October 2023, before the offensive came to a halt under a ceasefire deal that took effect on Oct. 10.