Israel365 responds to anxious New York Jews with program to support mass immigration to Israel
Just hours after New York City’s mayoral election was called for Zohran Mamdani, a top Israeli official issued an emergency call for Jews to make Aliyah, and Israel365 Charity Fund moved to turn that invitation into action.
“New York will never be the same again, especially not for its Jewish community,” Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli tweeted after Mamdani’s victory. “I invite the Jews of New York to seriously consider making their new home in the Land of Israel.”
The Israel365 Charity Fund, a group that connects Christians with causes in Israel and promotes Jewish immigration to Israel, announced the launch of an Emergency Aliyah Campaign aimed at helping Jewish families relocate from New York and other cities where they feel increasingly unsafe.
Rabbi Tuly Weisz, founder of Israel365, said his organization is positioned to help families who want to answer that call but don’t know where to start. “Jews across America are having urgent conversations about Aliyah,” Weisz said. “Many want to move to Israel but are overwhelmed by the logistics, the paperwork, the costs. That’s where we come in to help Jews get to Israel as quickly as possible.”
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who has called for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, becomes the city’s first openly anti-Zionist mayor. While Mamdani has reiterated a commitment to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, the impulse to flee the city following his win loomed large over Jews attending Andrew Cuomo’s event on election night, when the former governor came in second.
“One-hundred percent people are going to be leaving New York City under this mayorship,” said Joshua Friedman, a 32-year-old Orthodox Jew from the Upper East Side to the JTA. “There’s no reason to stay. Someone that hates you in your own backyard, why would you want to be here?”
Victoria Zurkiev, an Orthodox Queens resident and social media influencer at the event, predicted that “people who are successful will leave New York because they wouldn’t want to put their life in danger.” She added, “I believe that there is no life with Jewish people in New York going forward.”
The Israel365 Emergency Aliyah Campaign will provide financial assistance and logistical support for families making the move. The organization, which draws much of its funding from Christian Zionists who see Jewish return to Israel as fulfillment of biblical prophecy, frames the current moment as uniquely urgent.
“The prophet Ezekiel foresaw this exact hour,” Weisz said, citing Ezekiel 36:24: “I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land.”
The anxiety expressed by American Jews reflects broader trends. This past August, more than 1,000 new immigrants arrived in Israel, the highest monthly total in over 20 years. Since the events of October 7th, over 7,000 new immigrants from North America have made Aliyah – the Hebrew term for immigration to Israel – underscoring an extraordinary commitment to the Zionist dream in the face of ongoing regional conflict.
The question of whether Mamdani’s election will accelerate Jewish emigration from New York remains uncertain, but organizations like Israel365 appear poised to facilitate any such trend. For a city that has long been home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel, the prospect of a significant exodus, and the role of Christian Zionists enabling it, would mark a historic turning point in the American Jewish experience.
To donate to the Israel365 Emergency Aliyah Campaign, click here.
