NYC mayor warns antisemitism spreading ‘like a cancer’ across city

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams warned Thursday that antisemitism was spreading “like a cancer” across the city and the US, speaking out against anti-Israel rhetoric days before a city-wide vote that could see a strident critic of Israel replace him in office.

Adams is a staunch supporter of Israel with deep ties to the city’s Jewish communities. He has often spoken out against antisemitism and has taken a series of measures to combat hatred against Jews as mayor.

The speech came at a time when much of the city’s attention is focused on Tuesday’s vote for mayor. Polls have far-left anti-Israel State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, as the frontrunner, trailed by pro-Israel former governor Andrew Cuomo, an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani’s anti-Israel rhetoric has alarmed Jewish leaders in the city and beyond, who fear that the statements could fuel backlash against Jews.

In the speech, Adams highlighted an art exhibit on Governor’s Island this week that included images that said “Hamas lover,” “F**k Israel,” “‘Beyond the pale’: Israel’s existence,” and showed a Star of David on a Ku Klux Klan hood.

“A shocking number of people were afraid to call this out for what it is, but I am not one of those people. This was a vile, antisemitic exhibit,” Adams said, adding that the exhibit was unsanctioned and swiftly removed. “Disagreeing with the policies of Israel’s government does not make someone antisemitic, but to openly praise Hamas at an exhibit in a government facility sends a message of institutionalizing hatred.”

“History shows us how hatred begins on the fringes. It starts small, with a few artists trying to make a statement,” Adams said. “Before we know it, hate moves to the mainstream, and once it is in the mainstream, it becomes much harder to mobilize against.”

Adams took a shot at Mamdani, a Democrat who earlier this year defended the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” then later, after coming under massive pressure, said he would “discourage” the slogan.

“We will never surrender our city to hate or to those who want to say they want to globalize the intifada,” Adams said, “because it is literally a phrase that means, ‘Death to Jews all over the world.”

Adams said that Jews are targeted in 57 percent of all hate crimes in the city, pointing to an attack on an Israeli this week in Manhattan, saying, “If this was a stat for any group, we would respond accordingly.”

New York is home to the world’s largest Jewish community outside of Israel.

Adams, who is Black, highlighted Jewish support for the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

“The Jewish community marched with us, from Selma to the Senate,” he said. “As antisemitism spreads like a cancer across our city and our country, we must do the same for our Jewish brothers and sisters as they did for us.”

“We must bring down the temperature. Too many across this country are ready to go to war with one another, to start at a place of disagreement, to believe in only the worst of one another. I know we can change that. I know that we can move forward with love and acceptance,” he said.

Adams dropped his reelection bid last month with polls showing him at a low point. Last week, he endorsed his former rival Cuomo for mayor, citing Mamdani’s past defense of “Globalize the intifada,” among other issues.