NYC mayor says meet with anti-overhaul activists was opportunity to learn about the movement

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he met with activists opposed to the government’s judicial overhaul during his visit to Israel “to hear their diverse perspective.”

“Had an honest conversation with two leaders in Israel’s protest movement this morning about numerous issues at play here,” Adams says on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A photo from the meeting shows Adams with protest leaders Karine Nahon and Gigi Levy-Weiss. Eric Goldstein and Dan Rosenthal from the UJA Federation of New York, which helped organize Adams’s trip, are also in attendance.

New York’s Israeli protest group applauds Adams for taking the meeting with their Israeli counterparts.

“New York City is a symbol of liberty and democracy. It is also the seat of the largest Jewish and Israeli community in the world outside of Israel,” says Shany Granot-Lubaton, leader of the Israeli activist network UnXeptable’s branch in New York. The group had pushed for Adams to meet with protesters during his three-day trip to Israel this week.

“We strongly support the right decision of our mayor, Eric Adams, to meet with the protest leaders for Israeli democracy and represent the values ​​NYC is proud of,” Granot-Lubaton says. “We expect every elected official to do the same as Adams and meet the protest leaders on their visits in Israel. This is the right thing to do.”

Had an honest conversation with two leaders in Israel's protest movement this morning about numerous issues at play here.

I appreciate the opportunity to hear their diverse perspective. pic.twitter.com/F4JY74oP9V

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) August 22, 2023

New York Jewish Agenda, a progressive advocacy group that also pushed for Adams to meet with protesters, says it is “pleased” about the meeting.

Adams’s office last night announced his plan to meet with “leaders in the protest movement” this morning, hours before his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Other top public officials in New York, including Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Comptroller Brad Lander, have participated in expat-led protests against Netanyahu’s coalition.