Outgoing NYC Mayor Eric Adams visits synagogue that was targeted in protest

Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams visits Park East Synagogue in Manhattan, days after it was targeted in a protest by anti-Zionist activists.

The protest targeted an open house at the synagogue for Nefesh B’Nefesh, a group that promotes and facilitates North American Jewish immigration to Israel. It included chants of “Death to the IDF” and “intifada,” and individual protesters used antisemitic epithets.

Adams, who was in Uzbekistan at the time of the protest, condemned it on social media. He got back to New York yesterday, and the synagogue visit is his first public event since returning to the city.

“We don’t back down in the face of hate — we show up,” Adams says in a statement.

“I visited [Park East Synagogue] to stand proudly with Rabbi [Arthur] Schneier and our Jewish community to celebrate Jewish life and reaffirm our unshakable bond with Israel after last week’s antisemitic protests,” he says.

We don’t back down in the face of hate — we show up.

This morning, I visited @PESynagogue to stand proudly with Rabbi Schneier and our Jewish community to celebrate Jewish life and reaffirm our unshakable bond with Israel after last week’s antisemitic protests.

Neither… pic.twitter.com/KRK4jnKPxB

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) November 24, 2025

Adams is a staunch supporter of Israel and the city’s mainstream Jewish communities. His response to the protest highlights the divide between his posture and that of mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a longtime far-left anti-Israel activist who will take office on January 1.

Mamdani last week criticized both the protest and the synagogue, in a response that drew widespread criticism from Jewish groups.

His office said he “has discouraged the language used at last night’s protest and will continue to do so,” and that he “believes every New Yorker should be free to enter a house of worship without intimidation.”

The statement also said, “These sacred spaces should not be used to promote activities in violation of international law.”