Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Yakov Margi (Shas) ordered MK Samir Bin Said of Hadash-Ta’al faction to leave the podium on Wednesday evening, November 5, after he praised Zohran Mamdani, the newly elected mayor of New York City. “Get off the podium, you insolent man,” Margi shouted. “A member of the Israeli Knesset stands here and congratulates an antisemitic terror supporter.”
Elected New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks after winning the election during a rally in Brooklyn, New York, November 4, 2025 (Photo: Liri Agami/Flash90)
The confrontation highlighted sharp divisions within the Knesset over Mamdani’s victory and his stance on Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, igniting debate over foreign political endorsements by Israeli lawmakers. However, Hadash MKs praised New York mayoral elect Mamdani in statements on Wednesday.
“Mamdani’s splendid success is the beginning of the road. This path must succeed to pave the way toward a more just world, and for this reason, Mamdani will face difficulties along the way, because enemies and friends alike know the meaning of his success and his path,” MK Ayman Odeh (Hadash) wrote in a Facebook post. “After September 11 in New York, there were those who led the ‘clash of civilizations’ in thought and practice, but most of the people of New York made their resounding statement and triumphed over racism in a defining moment, Mandani’s moment. This is an additional and major reason why this choice must succeed, for Mamdani to succeed.”
Also, MK Ofer Cassif (Hadash) congratulated Zohran Mamdani “for his remarkable victory in yesterday’s election. From New York to the Middle East, may there be peace, justice and equality for all!” Cassif declared in a video message that ‘those who smear and hate you and talk against you and are afraid of you are solely those who are afraid of justice, those who do evil, and it is good that they are afraid. We’ll, I hope, give them a reason to be even more afraid in the future.”
Far-right Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, in an excoriating statement, accused New York City of “handing over its keys to a Hamas supporter.” “The city is marching with open eyes toward the abyss into which London has already plunged,” he said. “I call on the Jews of New York to seriously consider making their new home in the Land of Israel.”
MK Ohad Tal (Religious Zionism), who chairs the Knesset Israel-US Relations Caucus, said that “New York City has chosen an Islamist, antisemitic, and communist leader.” “The progressive woke forces have won,” Tal added.
On the contrary, many Jewish New Yorkers have congratulated mayor-elect Mamdani despite fearmongering that under his leadership, Jewish New Yorkers would be forced to flee abroad. Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, a group that campaigned for Mamdani, congratulated him on Instagram, saying, “Mazel Tov Zohran Mamdani, Mazel Tov NYC.” Jewish Voice for Peace Action, the advocacy arm of Jewish Voice for Peace, which also campaigned for Mamdani, issued similar congratulations, saying “Mazel Tov! Mabrouk!” “Movements just changed the course of history. Congratulations Zohran Mamdani. This win is for all of us. The fight continues – onward,” the group added in its post on Instagram. United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn took to X to congratulate Mamdani, saying: “Wishing your success in leading our city to safety, affordability and prosperity – while ensuring our ability to lead our religious life without government interference.”
