Following the announcement of election results positioning Zohran Mamdani to become the mayor of New York City, the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization issued an open letter to the Diaspora Jewish community calling for individuals and community leaders to prioritize the “option of living in Israel on the community and family agenda.”
The letter further writes that “we suggest that these sweeping events serve as a necessary call to strengthen your emotional bonds with Medinat Yisrael (the State of Israel) in ways that will increasingly encourage a more widespread and public commitment to aliyah (immigration to Israel -ed.).”
The organization, however, stressed, “It is critical that we not make the mistake of saying that you need to flee in fear and move to Israel out of fright, but rather out of love of our homeland. While antisemitism is increasingly rampant and all-too-often violent, we know that the condition of Jewish communities remains overwhelmingly safe, even if the situation is far more frightening than it might have been just two years ago.”
The letter concludes, “My dear friends, our arms are open, and we wait with emotion and excitement to embrace you and sing together V’Shavu Banim L’gvulam. And to all those who are not yet able to join us, we stand with you in solidarity and support in any which way we can, and wish only strength, safety and success for your communities and as always take enormous pride in recognizing that wherever on the globe we find ourselves, we are Am Echad B’Lev Echad- One nation, with one heart.”
The full letter can be read below:
An Open Letter to the Diaspora Jewish Community
We are now witness to the results of an election wherein a clear and outspoken critic of Israel who allies himself with virulent antisemites and who himself fails to be distanced from highly provocative and even inciteful statements against Jews, has been elected mayor of the city with the largest concentration of Jews outside of Israel.
While we of course respect the democratic process, and our goal is not to intervene in the political decisions of a foreign city, we also believe that it is incumbent upon us as Israeli Jews to encourage you in the Diaspora community to seize this moment for introspection and re-evaluation of our place in other parts of the world.
In the past, Jewish destiny might have been revealed to us by the prophets. But that is not the case in our times. Today, it is incumbent upon us to serve as conscientious witnesses to history and ensure that it guides us to make decisions that may be difficult - but are nonetheless in pursuit of the proper and righteous path at the heart of a Jewish-centered lifestyle.
We are now witness to some very clear signs that we should put the option of living in Israel on the community and family agenda.
The time has come to recognize that we cannot stand idly by as we witness a rising trend of Jew-hatred, to the point where Jews cannot publicly demonstrate their religion, and where to publicly exercise your religion could, God-forbid, become a matter of life and death.
At the very same time, it is critical that we not make the mistake of saying that you need to flee in fear and move to Israel out of fright, but rather out of love of our homeland. While antisemitism is increasingly rampant and all-too-often violent, we know that the condition of Jewish communities remains overwhelmingly safe, even if the situation is far more frightening than it might have been just two years ago.
We would rather suggest that these sweeping events serve as a necessary call to strengthen your emotional bonds with Medinat Yisrael in ways that will increasingly encourage a more widespread and public commitment to discussion about the actual option of Aliyah.
While we have the greatest respect for the achievements and strength of Diaspora Jewry, as God-fearing Jews, the sanctity of the land of Israel is central to our very identities. To be clear, only here in Israel can we promise ourselves and our children a long-term future where we can be full and proud Jews in private and in public, while directly and practically contributing to the miraculous rebuilding and continued shaping of a Jewish State.
We share this call with the complete and unabashed acceptance that Israel is not a nation without its fair share of flaws. But these are “our flaws” and it is both a blessing and enormous responsibility to be central players in addressing them. I have no doubt that the more American Jews reside in Israel, the better the country will become, as they will bring with them the very best of what they built and shaped in the Diaspora. We are confident that with the increased influx of Diaspora Jews, especially from the USA, many of those challenges can begin to be remedied in ways that will only further benefit our society, culture and nation at large.
My dear friends, our arms are open, and we wait with emotion and excitement to embrace you and sing together V’Shavu Banim L’gvulam. And to all those who are not yet able to join us, we stand with you in solidarity and support in any which way we can, and wish only strength, safety and success for your communities and as always take enormous pride in recognizing that wherever on the globe we find ourselves, we are Am Echad B’Lev Echad- One nation, with one heart.