Israel’s Diaspora Minister criticized Zohran Mamdani, who was elected yesterday, Tuesday, as mayor of New York, describing him as a “Hamas supporter” and at the same time calling on the Jews of the city to immigrate to Israel.

Zohran Mamdani, 34, will become in January the first Muslim mayor of New York.

“The city that was once a symbol of freedom in the world has just entrusted its keys to a Hamas supporter,” wrote Amichai Chikli, Minister for the Diaspora and the Fight against Antisemitism, on platform X.

He added that Mamdani’s positions “are not very far from those of fanatic Islamists who, 25 years ago, murdered three thousand people” – a reference to the September 11, 2001 attacks launched by Al Qaeda in New York and Washington.

In recent months Zohran Mamdani has spoken many times against antisemitism, while also denouncing the Islamophobia of which he has been a victim.

Mamdani has long supported the Palestinian cause. His positions regarding Israel – which he has called an “apartheid regime” – and whose attack on the Gaza Strip he has denounced as “genocide” – have sparked strong reactions, especially anger within the Jewish community.

This attack began in retaliation for the unprecedented attack launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023 on Israeli territory.

“New York will never be the same, first and foremost for the Jewish community,” Chikli added on X, inviting the “Jews of New York to seriously consider making the Land of Israel their new home.”

Mamdani’s clear electoral victory happened despite attacks targeting his politics and his Muslim roots, mainly from business circles and conservative media as well as from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump intervened at the last moment in the election campaign on Tuesday, saying that Mamdani is full of “hatred” against Jews.