New York City mayor announces business council to build economic ties with Israel

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Economy Minister Nir Barkat on Monday announced a new unit in the mayor’s office aimed at building economic ties between the US city and Israel.

Adams and Barkat signed a declaration of intent to establish the New York City-Israel Economic Council. The program’s aims include fostering business partnerships; backing Israeli businesses moving to New York City; and promoting technological collaboration in fields including environmental science and artificial intelligence.

“We’re the top partners. You’re no longer going all the way to the West Coast,” Adams said at a signing ceremony. “Israel’s a global leader in technology and entrepreneurship and this initiative will help set up New Yorkers with the jobs of the future.”

“This initiative opens new opportunities for Israeli companies to engage with the dynamic New York market, while contributing meaningful value to the city’s diverse economy,” Barkat said.

The mayor’s Office for International Affairs will lead the program, which will bring together staff from the mayor’s office and Israel’s Economic Mission to the US.

Adams and Barkat first floated the idea for the council in 2023. The mayor’s office said the agreement signed Monday is that proposal coming to fruition. The council will formalize the process of coordinating Israeli companies with city agencies for work on New York City projects, the mayor’s office said.

Adams and Barkat announced the council at The Jerusalem Post Conference, an annual gathering in the city that brings together Israeli and American leaders.

Israel Day on 5th in New York City, May 18, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

New York is a leading international hub for Israeli businesses that are seeking to expand beyond Israel’s small domestic scene. In New York, the companies have access to US public markets, a larger pool of potential investors, and customers including the American public and US-based businesses.

The United States-Israel Business Alliance, a nonprofit, says 30 Israel-founded “unicorns,” or companies worth more than $1 billion, are based in New York State. The group estimated in a 2023 report that the companies had created more than 14,000 jobs in the state.

Israeli Mapped in NY, a group that tracks Israeli businesses, counts more than 400 Israeli startups in the city.

Adams is a staunch supporter of Israel and New York Jewish communities. He announced the council a day after marching in the city’s annual pro-Israel parade, and a week after his office formed a new task force for combating antisemitism.

Adams announced the council as candidates in the city’s mayoral race battle for Jewish voters ahead of the Democratic party primary next month. Adams is running as an independent, so will not be in the primary, and will run in the general election in November.

The leader in the primary is former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who has made combating antisemitism and support for Israel a central plank of his campaign. Adams and Cuomo are both centrist Democrats with long ties to Jewish communities who will likely face off in the general election.

Adams touched on the mayoral race while announcing the council.

“Several politicians in this city, some running for mayor, have called for the disinvestment from Israel,” Adams said. “Well, they got another thing coming. As long as I’m the mayor of this city, we will be investing in Israel.”

On Sunday, footage surfaced showing state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who is polling in second place in the primary, chanting in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel at a 2021 protest outside the Israeli consulate.

Mamdani’s party, the Democratic Socialists of America, is committed to the boycott as part of its anti-Israel platform. Mamdani is a harsh critic of Israel who has alarmed many Jewish voters with his strong showing leading up to the primary.