Notorious Israeli minister incites New York's Jews to flee after Mamdani's victory

A far-right Israeli minister has urged New York's Jewish residents to flee and settle in Israel following Zohran Mamdani's victory in the city's mayoral election, branding the 34-year-old Democratic "socialist" a "Hamas supporter."

"The city that once stood as a symbol of global freedom has handed over its keys to a Hamas supporter," Israel's right-wing Minister of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli wrote on X.

"New York will never be the same again, especially not for its Jewish community," he added.

"I invite the Jews of New York to seriously consider making their new home in the Land of Israel."

Mamdani’s positions on Israel — which he has called an "apartheid regime" and described its war in Gaza as a genocide — have drawn the ire of several Israeli officials and Zionist figures in the Jewish community.

A long-standing supporter of the Palestinian cause, he has also made a point of vocally denouncing anti-Semitism in recent months, as well as the Islamophobia he himself has suffered, especially from pro-Israel figures.

Israeli firebrand minister Itamar Ben Gvir echoed Chikli’s remarks, saying: "Anti-Semitism has triumphed over common sense. Mamdani is a supporter of Hamas, an enemy of Israel, and an avowed antisemite."

Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party, wrote on X that "New York has chosen as its mayor a racist, a populist, and an avowed Shiite Islamist."

Mamdani’s decisive election victory came despite fierce attacks on his policies and Muslim heritage from business elites, conservative media commentators, and US President Donald Trump.

Trump made an eleventh-hour intervention in the race on Tuesday, calling Mamdani a "Jew hater" on his social media platform Truth Social.

Excitement and hope among many US Muslims

But many in New York are relieved and proud that anti-Muslim vitriol directed at Mamdani during the campaign didn't discourage New Yorkers from voting for him.

"For the first time in a very long time, I feel hope—as a Muslim, as a Democrat, as an American, as an immigrant,", said Bukhtawar Waqas, who literally jumped for joy and called her father to celebrate.

She said she attended Mamdani’s victory speech and was reassured by the diversity of New Yorkers around her despite any challenges that may be ahead.

Growing up, Waqas, a Pakistani American physician, never thought she’d see a Muslim become mayor of New York City.

She said she gravitated toward Mamdani’s messages to the working class and found his affordability vision to have wide resonance.

Mamdani, who cast his win as a boon for blue-collar workers struggling to get by, has campaigned on an agenda that includes free buses, free child care and a rent freeze for rent-stabilised apartments.

Not only the city’s first Muslim mayor, he will be its first of South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa.

During his speech on Tuesday night, Mamdani said that "no more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election."

He also pledged to protect New Yorkers of all faiths.

"We will build a city hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of anti-Semitism, where the more than 1 million Muslims know that they belong, not just in the five boroughs of this city, but in the halls of power," he said.