New York City Mayor Eric Adams met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attended his speech at the U.N. General Assembly on Friday.
Adams thanked Netanyahu “for defending the Western world and our way of life.”
“As your mayor, my oath is to protect New Yorkers against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, and Prime Minister Netanyahu laid out a clear case that those who call for the death of Jews across the globe are also calling for the death of Americans,” Adams stated.
“At a time when much of the world is turning its back on the Jewish state of Israel, the mayor of the largest Jewish community outside of Israel must remain steadfast in our support for Israel, its right to defend itself, eliminate Hamas and bring every single one of their hostages home,” he said.
During Netanyahu’s speech, a crowd of delegates physically turned their backs to the Israeli leader as they walked out of the assembly hall in protest. Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, and Israel’s consul general in New York, Ofir Akunis, also joined the mayor and prime minister at the U.N. meeting.
In New York City’s four-way mayoral race, Adams, who is running as an independent, is arguably the most pro-Israel candidate, alongside fellow independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
The three stand in sharp contrast to the Democratic nominee, state representative Zohran Mamdani, who has said that as mayor, he would order the New York City Police Department to arrest Netanyahu under the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for what it alleges are war crimes. (Jerusalem and Washington have said that the court lacks jurisdiction and that the allegations are false.)
Mamdani slammed his political rivals and once again accused Netanyahu’s government of committing “genocide” on Friday.
“During the course of his speech, another Palestinian child will undoubtedly be killed by the Israeli military in Gaza, as they have been every single hour for nearly two years,” Mamdani stated. “Eric Adams will greet Netanyahu as a friend. Andrew Cuomo proudly served on his legal defense team. Both have jockeyed for the approval of Donald Trump, who has sent billions of our taxpayer dollars to support these war crimes.”
“A mayor cannot end these atrocities, but they can speak for the values of this city: a commitment to human rights for all people, including Palestinians, and a yearning for peace and justice,” he said.
Mamdani, who is Muslim, has reportedly tried to make greater inroads with the New York Jewish community, including attending a Rosh Hashanah service at a progressive congregation in Brooklyn on Monday.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish and who has endorsed Mamdani, told the New York Times that the Democratic nominee would attend Yom Kippur services at a synagogue on the Upper West Side.
On Friday, Nadler’s synagogue, B’nai Jeshurun, announced that it would not host Mamdani.
“Assemblymember Mamdani will not be joining services with our community,” the non-denominational synagogue stated. “Yom Kippur is a holy day of deep spiritual significance, of introspection and prayer. Not a time for political campaigning.”
