Minister Sofer blasts Mamdani’s silence as antisemitic mobs threaten Jews and glorify Palestinian terrorism.
Israeli Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer delivered a scathing condemnation of New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani following the shocking antisemitic protest outside Manhattan’s Park East Synagogue on Wednesday night—an event that laid bare the poisonous climate Mamdani has helped cultivate.
Sofer stated unequivocally:
“Mamdani is disgracing the United States and its values. Instead of fighting antisemitism, he legitimizes hostility toward Jews and toward the State of Israel. Jews must be able to live safely and with dignity in New York—just as anywhere else.”
The demonstration targeted a Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah event and quickly devolved into an extremist rally glorifying Palestinian terror. Protesters screamed violent calls such as “From New York to Gaza, globalize the Intifada,” a slogan celebrating murder, bombings, and the slaughter of Israeli civilians. Instead of decisively condemning these threats, Mamdani remained silent—again.
His staff issued a cautious, hedged statement claiming he “discouraged the language,” but Mamdani himself refused to speak against the mob. His spokesperson even implied the synagogue’s Aliyah event was “violating international law,” effectively blaming the Jewish community for being targeted.
This silence is nothing new. Mamdani has repeatedly aligned himself with anti-Israel radicals. On October 8, 2023—just one day after the Hamas massacre that butchered 1,200 Israelis—he attacked Israel rather than condemning the terrorists. He has refused to denounce the “globalize the intifada” slogan, vowed to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he visit New York, and routinely accuses Israel of war crimes while ignoring the brutality of Hamas.
Minister Sofer contrasted Mamdani’s hostility with a remarkable reality:
“During the war, we saw a powerful wave of Aliyah—families moving to the Gaza Envelope, the north, Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem. Jews continue to express interest in returning home. To them I say: come.”
Mamdani’s election has coincided with an escalating crisis for New York’s Jewish community. NYPD data released just before the vote revealed that 62% of all hate-crime victims in New York last month were Jews—29 antisemitic attacks out of 47 total incidents. On Mamdani’s very election day, swastikas were spray-painted on the Magen David Yeshiva in Brooklyn.
The message is clear: while Jewish New Yorkers are being threatened, assaulted, and terrorized, their incoming mayor refuses to stand with them—and instead chooses political solidarity with those who glorify violence against Jews and openly celebrate Palestinian terrorism.
