In the wake of the recent election of viciously anti-Israel politician Zohan Mamdani as Mayor of New York’s five major boroughs, a nervous Jewish community is bracing for the worst. This no doubt contributed to the large turnout at the memorial marking the anniversary of Rabbi Meir Kahane’s assassination.
Kahane was murdered 35 years ago, on November 5, the same day Mamdani’s election results appeared on headlines around the world. Many in the Jewish community mourned Mamdani’s victory with the same intensity that Arabs and Muslims celebrated it globally.
The Anti-Defamation League announced the establishment of a special “Mamdani Monitoring Committee” to track how the new administration handles anti-Semitic incidents.
At the memorial event in New York, Yekutiel Guzofsky, Rabbi Kahane’s former Chief of Operations, who flew in specially from Israel, reminded the audience of the Rav’s prophetic warnings. Kahane had been assassinated while speaking at an emergency Aliyah conference in New York.
Guzofsky echoed Kahane’s urgent call for Jews to return to Israel: “Liquidate the Exile, before the Exile liquidates you.”
The line, originally from Ze’ev Jabotinsky, was famously invoked by Rabbi Kahane. Guzofsky emphasized that while Jews must defend themselves and speak out while still in the United States, the ultimate answer is Aliyah.
He reminded participants of the murder of Yankel Rosenbaum and other victims of the 1991 Crown Heights riots, during which, he said, anti-Semitic Mayor David Dinkins, along with his Police Commissioner Lee Brown, turned a blind eye to the anti-Jewish violence and prevented Jews from defending themselves.
Warning that Dinkins could be considered a “righteous gentile” in comparison, Guzofsky noted that Mamdani still refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist and has vowed to have Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he visits New York.
Guzofsky concluded by urging attendees to “come home to Israel” and support the dissemination of Rabbi Kahane’s Torah and the authentic Jewish Idea.
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