NEW YORK — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations on September 24, following a lengthy war of words with Mayor Mamdani, whom the Prime Minister has repeatedly accused of fueling antisemitism because of his views on the Israeli government.

Ahead of the address, Torah Jews anticipated that Mr. Netanyahu would use his moment at the podium to further inflame rhetoric against the mayor and sow resentment in New York City by claiming that Jews are unsafe because the Israeli government is being criticized.

As anticipated, Mr. Netanyahu launched an all-out attack against Mayor Mamdani during his international address, accusing him of making Jews unsafe and fueling antisemitism. Torah Jews strongly rejected Netanyahu’s characterization of Jewish life in New York and his attempt to turn Jewish safety into a political weapon against a mayor critical of Israel.

In response, Torah Jews placed a major advertisement in Times Square, spending thousands of dollars raised from Jewish New Yorkers frustrated by Netanyahu’s portrayal of their communities and his repeated use of Jewish identity in Israel’s political battles.

The initiative was led by Rabbi Moshe Dovid Katz, founder of Torah Jews, who personally spearheaded an intensive fundraising campaign funded dollar by dollar by Jewish New Yorkers who feel silenced and misrepresented and want their voices heard.

Explaining the motivation behind the advertisement, Rabbi Moshe Dovid Katz stated:

“I personally raised thousands of dollars, dollar by dollar, from Jewish New Yorkers who are deeply frustrated by Netanyahu’s weaponization of antisemitism to bash Mayor Mamdani and exploit Jews to further Israel’s political goals. There are countless Jews in our city who feel silenced and misrepresented. We wanted our cry to be heard.”

Rabbi Moshe Dovid Katz emphasized that Torah Jews rejects the association of Jewish identity with Israeli nationality and firmly maintains that Zionism and Judaism are fundamentally distinct.

“We are deeply pained by the repeated exploitation of our sacred religion to advance the agenda of a foreign government. Jews are not extensions of Israel, Zionism is not Judaism, and Netanyahu does not represent us. We want to live in peace and harmony with our neighbors, without being dragged into political battles that are not ours.”

Rabbi Moshe Dovid Katz also expressed concern about the consequences of treating Jewish communities as representatives of the Israeli government.

“Netanyahu and his allies claim to care deeply about antisemitism, yet they ceaselessly conflate Jewish identity with Israel. We believe this conflation fuels resentment against Jews and undermines the peace and harmony we cherish. Our communities deserve to be recognized for who we are, not as representatives of a foreign government.”

The advertisement was displayed at 1557 Broadway in Times Square and ran until the onset of the Sabbath.