Israeli and U.S. Jewish Leaders Voice Alarm Over Zohran Mamdani’s New York Mayoral Win

Israel’s political and American Jewish communal leaders are expressing deep concern following the election of far-left Democrat Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City. While Israel’s government has not officially commented, reactions from across the political spectrum reflected rare unity in condemning what many called a “troubling” development for Jewish life in the city with one of the largest Jewish populations outside Israel.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the election “will be remembered forever as a moment when antisemitism triumphed over common sense.” He called Mamdani “a supporter of Hamas, a hater of Israel and an avowed antisemite,” and blasted the new mayor’s “false claims that we are ‘committing genocide in Gaza.’”

Opposition chairman Avigdor Liberman described Mamdani similarly as “the man who supported Hamas, attacked Israel, and blamed the West for all the world’s troubles.” Liberman said that “just three decades after the Twin Towers disaster, New York has elected a racist, populist, and openly Shiite Islamist as its mayor.” and “the poster boy for the silent jihad.” He added, “This is a wake-up call for New York Jews who want to immigrate to where they belong – the Land of Israel.” He concluded in English: “The Big Apple has fallen.”

Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee chairman Gilad Kariv, of the Labor Party expressed confidence that Jewish leadership in New York “will successfully navigate the new reality following Mamdani’s election.” Kariv affirmed that Israel “will assist in combating manifestations of antisemitism in the city,” and urged a balanced diplomatic approach.
“Together with the Jewish community in North America, we will continue to oppose any attempt to delegitimize the Jewish people’s right to a national homeland and self-determination,” he said.

Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon wrote on X that “Mamdani’s inflammatory remarks will not deter us. The Jewish community in New York and across the United States deserves safety and respect. We will continue to strengthen our ties with Jewish community leaders to ensure their security and well-being.”

Former Israeli ambassador to both the UN and the U.S. Gilad Erdan described the outcome as “a black day, a sad day.” He said Mamdani “sees Israel as an apartheid state committing genocide and does not recognize it as the Jewish state,” calling the result “a giant warning sign.” Erdan urged that “Israel must wake up and implement a comprehensive plan to rebuild our image in the United States.”

Early Wednesday morning back in America, just hours after U.S. media projected Mamdani the winner, Rabbi Marc Schneier announced plans to build what he called “the first Jewish day school in the Hamptons.” The initiative, he said, anticipates “thousands of Jewish families” relocating from New York City to Suffolk County “to escape the antisemitic climate of Mamdani’s New York City.”

Jonathan Greenblatt, head of the Anti-Defamation League, pledged to approach the next four years “with resolve,” warning that Mamdani’s record “on issues of deep concern to the Jewish community” leaves “no room for complacency.”
“We expect the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world to stand unequivocally against antisemitism in all its varied forms and support all of its Jewish residents just as he would all other constituents,” Greenblatt wrote. “In the months ahead, we will hold the Mamdani Administration to this basic standard… and we will be relentless and unyielding in our work to ensure the safety and security of all Jewish New Yorkers.”