Israeli President Isaac Herzog denounced New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, whom he said “makes no effort” to hide his disdain for Israel, and called for the Jewish community to “fight back” against anti-Israel hatred, during a speech on Sunday night at Yeshiva University’s annual Hanukkah Dinner. 

“Here in New York and all across America, the turbulence is unnerving, and the challenges facing the Jewish people are growing,” Herzog said. “Institutional antisemitism, conspiracies left and right, Jew hatred platformed on social media and moral bankruptcy masquerading as social justice have all disturbingly increased. We all recognize the increase of volume in hatred and the magnified sounds of silence from people once considered our friends.” 

“The incoming mayor is an example,” Herzog continued. “Recent developments in New York have raised a red flag. Here we see a mayor-elect who makes no effort to conceal his contempt for the Jewish democratic State of Israel, the only nation state of the Jewish people.”

“Two weeks ago, we saw an aliyah event at a prominent Manhattan synagogue being hounded and harassed,” Herzog said, referring to a mob of anti-Israel protesters who disrupted a Nefesh B’ Nefesh event with chants of “globalize the intifada” and “death to the IDF” at Park East Synagogue. “The incoming mayor’s response was to suggest that Jews who consider fulfilling [aliyah] are violating international law. In the face of such hatred, we must fight back fiercely and fearlessly.”

With his remarks, Herzog joined a growing number of Jewish figures who have condemned the incoming New York City mayor. Speaking at the UJA-Federation of New York’s Wall Street Dinner last Monday, Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan declared Mamdani an “enemy,” whom he said “uses antisemitism in [his] campaign and normalizes antisemitism.” Other Jewish leaders, while remaining skeptical of Mamdani, have encouraged a more cooperative approach in order to ensure that the Jewish community maintains its access to municipal services and resources.

Herzog was honored at the university’s 101st Hanukkah Dinner, receiving an honorary doctorate from the institution. The event also featured a nod to YU honorees over the past 101 years, which have included Albert Einstein, Jonas Salk, Golda Meir and John F. Kennedy. 

Since the surge of antisemitism on college campuses brought on by the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, Yeshiva University has positioned itself as a refuge for Jewish students. Now, as Mamdani is weeks away from taking office, the school’s president, Rabbi Ari Berman, said on Sunday night that the school is gearing up for its next mission: confronting the incoming mayor. 

“As the premier Jewish university in the nation, we are not running from the untruths being repeated by a newly elected official in the city. We are here to confront them,” Berman told the roughly 500 people at the dinner, which was held in downtown Manhattan’s Cipriani ballroom. “[We are here] to stand proudly by our values and show the world what it means to be a Zionist. If there ever was a time for Yeshiva University to be in New York City it is right now. This is our time, this is our calling. We will always stand for our values, we will always bring the light.”

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced, in virtual remarks, a $5 million gift to Yeshiva University, marking the early completion of the university’s Rise Up Campaign, launched in Dec. 2021 with the goal of raising $613 million within five years. This was Kraft’s second major gift to Yeshiva University in as many years. A number of other major gifts were announced at the gala, including $10 million from Anne and Jeremy Pava to create the Pava Center for Women’s Torah Scholarship; and $13 million from Alex and Diane Tsigutkin for the university’s engineering program.  

While anti-Israel demonstrations have roiled college campuses nationwide since Oct. 7, the number of transfer students to YU increased by 75% in 2024, according to university officials. Even with the recent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, “we don’t see [increased admissions] stopping in any way,” Berman told eJewishPhilanthropy on the sidelines of the event. “We’re overwhelmed with students. Students who in the past would have gone to the top Ivy League schools are now coming to Yeshiva University.”  

Jewish leaders and VIPS in attendance included philanthropist Miriam Adelson; Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA); political commentator Douglas Murray; Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of fallen American Israeli soldier Omer Neutra, whose body was held captive for more than two years by Hamas in Gaza; Jewish Federations of North America CEO Eric Fingerhut; and UJA-Federation of New York CEO Eric Goldstein. 

With Hanukkah one week away, guests capped the night noshing on a variety of festive sufganiyot flavors — including dulce de leche, lotus cookie and traditional jelly.