Eric Adams: If I were a Jewish New Yorker I’d be concerned about my children

Outgoing New York Mayor Eric Adams said on Sunday during a visit to Israel that if he were a Jewish New Yorker he would be concerned about his children following this month’s election of his replacement, Zohran Mamdani.

“If I were a Jewish New Yorker I would be concerned about my children,” Adams said at a Tel Aviv event organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement. “We need to be honest about the moment and cannot sugarcoat it.”

He cautioned that it has now become “cool and hip” to be antisemitic around the globe, including in New York City—home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel—and that a whole generation has been raised on lies picked up via social media.

“You have people walking around the country with signs saying Queers for Palestine, and that is queer when the only place you can walk around in the Middle East being queer is Israel,” he said, adding, “They’ve hijacked the conversation.”

Israel lost the narrative

The outgoing mayor, who has been a stalwart supporter of Israel, noted that the human story behind the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion of Israel never got across in the United States, leading Israel to lose the mainstream public.

“The story was never really told about Oct. 7,” he said. “You heard about it but you never knew what really happened.”

Israel supporters failed to come up with messaging that connected with everyday people, and the story was seized by their opponents, he said.

“The Zohrans of the world shoved the images of every baby killed in Gaza... and became a symbol of what people were angry about,” he continued.

New York Jews must “prepare themselves”

New York Jews must not be complacent amid this burst of antisemitism that is likely to increase after Mamdani’s victory, said Adams, who added that the city is going in the wrong direction.

“The New York Jewish community must prepare themselves,” he said. “This is a period where you need to be conscious about the level of global hostility towards the Jewish community. If you say everything is fine you are setting yourself up for failure.”

About one third of New York Jews voted for Mamdani according to exit polling, highlighting the divide between the predominantly liberal American Jewish community and Israel.

“Abnormal became normal”

According to Adams, Mamdani’s refusal to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada” during the election campaign and the fact that he cruised to victory nonetheless was indicative of the abnormal becoming normal in New York.

“People are comfortable with being antisemitic,” he said.

“I’m not just your mayor,” he said to rousing applause. “I’m your brother.”

Mamdani is set to take office on January 1.