‘The torch of freedom has gone out’: Israelis & American Jews react to Mamdani's NYC mayoral win

Israeli and Jewish politicians and leaders around the world reacted strongly to the election victory of Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York.

Many attacked his pro-Palestinian positions and expressed concern for the well-being of New York’s Jewish population. 

However, Mamdani won 33% of the Jewish vote in New York, according to CNN. Overall, he won around 50% of the vote, more than his challengers, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa combined.

The American Jewish Committee released a statement following Mamdani’s win, saying, “We cannot ignore that the Mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values.” 

AJC, together with @UJAfedNY, @JCRCNY, @ADL_NYNJ, and the New York Board of Rabbis expresses concern following the election of Zohran Mamdani as New York City’s next mayor.

“We cannot ignore that the Mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s… pic.twitter.com/i5Uf6M9iK6

— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) November 5, 2025

Rabbi Marc Schneier, Senior Rabbi of the Hampton Shul, announced he would start a Jewish day school in the Hamptons to accommodate Jewish families who decide to leave New York City following Mamdani’s win. 

Sacha Roytman, executive director of the Movement to Combat Anti-Semitism, said the election results were very bad news. 

With the news of @ZohranKMamdani mayoral victory, I am announcing plans for the building of the first Jewish day school in the Hamptons.

This is in anticipation of the thousands of Jewish families that will flock to the Hamptons and greater Suffolk County to escape the… pic.twitter.com/kWhXwtKyEc

— Rabbi Marc Schneier (@RabbiMSchneier) November 5, 2025

“Anti-Semitism in the United States is breaking records every day, and the results at the polls simply reflect the mood on the streets.” 

Roytman noted that the Jewish community in New York City only makes up about 11 percent of the city’s population but accounts for more than half of the city’s reported hate crimes. 

“One of the largest Jewish communities in the world deserves a mayor who fights anti-Semitism, not one who incites it,” Roitman stated. “We will continue to stand with New York’s Jewish community, fight anti-Semitism on a daily basis, and closely monitor the new municipal government to ensure that city authorities fulfill their duty to protect all New Yorkers.” 

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said, “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.” 

Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said the issue with Mamdani’s win is not the fact that he is Muslim, but his consistent anti-Israel stance. 

“A new reality,” Ambassador Danon told 103FM on Wednesday morning. 

“The fact that he is Muslim is not the event, the event is that this is a mayor who spoke out very strongly against Israel, against the IDF, and did not back down throughout the entire campaign. We are certainly concerned about his choice, about the personal safety of the large Jewish community that lives here in New York,” Danon said. 

Danon also posted to 𝕏, saying that Israel would not be deterred by “Mamdani’s inflammatory remarks.” 

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.

— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) November 5, 2025

Right-wing opposition party leader Avigdor Liberman also reacted to Mamdani’s win on social media, writing, “The Big Apple has fallen!” 

Posting in Hebrew, he said, “Just three decades after the Twin Towers disaster, New York has elected a racist, populist, and outspoken Islamist as its mayor. Mamdani is the poster boy for the silent jihad.” 

“Mamdani is the last thing a city plagued by crime, anti-Semitism, and insecurity needed,” Liberman concluded. He also remarked that Jews in New York City should plan to make aliyah (immigration) to Israel. 

Israel's former UN Ambassador, Gilad Erdan, called Mamdani “a hater of Israel who sees us as an apartheid state, who carries out genocide and does not recognize Israel as a Jewish state."

"This is a black day, a sad day. It is a huge warning sign. Israel must wake up and implement a comprehensive plan to rebrand us in the U.S.," he added.

However, one of the strongest critiques came from Israeli Minister of Diaspora and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, who wrote a scathing response to 𝕏. 

“The torch of freedom of this beautiful city has gone out and it is a shame to waste words on how everything will be fine, nothing will be fine in this city,” Chikli wrote in Hebrew. 

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

He also called Zohran Mamdani a “Hamas supporter” and compared his stance to “jihadist fanatics."

“The city that was once a symbol of global freedom has handed over its keys to a Hamas supporter, one whose stance is not far removed from the jihadist fanatics who murdered three thousand of its own people 25 years ago,” Chikli wrote. 

He also encouraged New York Jews to come to Israel. “I invite the Jews of New York to consider positively determining their new place in the Land of Israel.”