Jews in New York, "Feel unsafe in New York? Start looking for a home in Israel"

 Jerusalem Post  

"For Jews who can afford it, a modest apartment in Jerusalem, Haifa, or Beit Shemesh is no longer just a sentimental indulgence or a theoretical; it's an anchor." 

Demonstrators attend a pro-Palestinian protest on the day of the two-year anniversary of the attack on Israel by Hamas, in New York City

"Two scenes in the past week – one on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, one in Tel Aviv – send a single message to Diaspora Jews: it may be time to think seriously about owning a home in Israel.

"Outside Park East Synagogue, some 200 anti-Israel activists surrounded a Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah fair, chanting “From New York to Gaza, globalize the intifada” and “Resistance, you make us proud, take another settler out.”

"One masked speaker led the crowd in a chilling refrain: “We need to make them scared!” as Jews trying to enter their synagogue were forced to push past jeering protesters. Inside, a Nefesh B’Nefesh staffer said that, compared with previous events, there was “more serious discussion of aliyah as an option.”

"New York’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, responded with a carefully balanced statement. His press secretary, Dora Pekec, said he “has discouraged” the language used outside Park East and “believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation,” yet added that “these sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.” To many Jews, it sounded like a mayor-elect unwilling to say clearly that targeting a synagogue with threats is antisemitic.

"The broader American backdrop is no less troubling. In its latest annual audit, the Anti-Defamation League logged more than 9,300 antisemitic incidents in 2024, a record high, and for the first time, most were explicitly tied to hostility to Israel or Zionism. “In 2024, hatred toward Israel was a driving force behind antisemitism across the US,” said Oren Segal, who leads the ADL’s efforts to combat extremism and terrorism." . .

. . . "Real estate decisions are personal and financial, not only ideological. Yet the question for many Jews is starting to sound less like “Should I buy in Tel Aviv or stay in New York?” and more like: In an age of multiplying uncertainties, where do I want my family’s emergency key to fit?"       .More...