Diaspora Affairs Minister Urges New York Jews to Move to Israel

Jerusalem, 5 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Diaspora Affairs Minister, Amichai Chikli, expressed alarm over the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, calling him a supporter of Hamas and warning that the city is becoming increasingly unsafe for Jews.

“The city that was once a symbol of global freedom has handed over its keys to a Hamas supporter — to someone whose positions are not far from those of the jihadist fanatics who, 25 years ago, murdered 3,000 of its own people,” Chikli tweeted Wednesday morning, referring to the 9/11 attacks.

Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, has refused to condemn Hamas, proposed divesting city funds from Israel, and promised to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

New York City has the largest Jewish population of any city outside Israel. As of recent estimates, approximately 1.1 to 1.2 million Jews live in the city, making up roughly 13% of the total population.

העיר שבעבר הייתה לסמל החירות העולמי, מסרה את המפתחות שלה לידיו של תומך חמאס, לידיו של מי שלא רחוק בעמדותיו מהפנאטים הג׳יהאדיסטים שרצחו לפני 25 שנה שלושת אלפים מאנשיה.

זהו רגע מפנה קריטי עבור העיר ניו־יורק. הבחירה שעשתה ניו יורק מערערת את יסודותיו המקום שהעניק חרות והזדמנות… pic.twitter.com/Nl8Sjpm7RG

— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) November 5, 2025

Chikli described the election as a “critical turning point for the city of New York” and said the decision undermines the city’s historic role as a refuge for Jewish immigrants. “The choice New York has made shakes the very foundations of the place that gave freedom and the opportunity for success to countless Jewish refugees since the end of the 19th century — a place that became home to the largest Jewish community in the world outside of Israel,” he said.

Chikli blamed a long-term cultural shift, citing an “anti-Zionist atmosphere on campuses overtaken by Qatari money” and “violent demonstrations of Hamas supporters at CUNY [City University of New York], NYU [New York University], and especially Columbia University.” He argued these trends culminated in the election of “the last of the bullies who back Hamas’s rapists and murderers.”

Warning of dire consequences, Chikli said, “New York will never be the same again, especially not for its Jewish community. The city is walking with open eyes into the abyss that London has already plunged into… it’s pointless to waste words claiming that everything will be fine. Nothing will be fine in this city.”

He concluded by urging, “I invite the Jews of New York to seriously consider making their new home in the Land of Israel.”