Outgoing Mayor of NYC Eric Adams Warns of Jewish Safety Concerns as He Visits Western Wall, Meets Netanyahu, Herzog and Sa’ar in Jerusalem

New York Mayor Eric Adams spent the day in Jerusalem visiting the Kotel and meeting with senior Israeli leaders, a central part of his current visit to Israel as he approaches the final weeks of his term. 

Speaking at a reception in Tel Aviv before traveling to Jerusalem, Adams directly addressed concerns about Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel who will become New York’s first Muslim mayor on January 1. Asked about the safety of Jews in New York under the next administration, he replied, “If I were a Jewish New Yorker, I’d be concerned about my children.” He added, “There is something to be worried about,” and said, “The community must prepare itself” because “everything is not fine.”

Mamdani’s campaign responded that he “was proud to earn the support of hundreds of thousands of Jewish New Yorkers” and “looks forward to both protecting and celebrating all Jewish New Yorkers as the next mayor of this city.”

Today, Adams arrived at the Kotel, where he prayed and was warmly greeted by other Jeqa. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation thanked him for his “unqualified support” for Israel and the Jewish people. Speaking at the site, Adams said, “I have already visited here during my term, and when I finished, I wanted to return here, to Israel, and let you know that I serve you as mayor, but I want to continue to hold the title that means more to me than anything else: I am your brother. Thank you!”

He placed a note between the stones and wrote in the official guest book: “God is real, and life has proven this to us — may the prayers from this Western Wall become the reality of life.” On X, he wrote that the Kotel is “a place of prayer for all nations,” quoting the verse, “כי ביתי בית תפלה יקרא לכל העמים.”

Following the Kotel visit, Adams met with President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. Herzog called him “a dear, dear friend of Israel and the Jewish people” and recalled Adams’s “historic visit” during the early days of the war with Hamas. Herzog also acknowledged concerns in Israel and in the American Jewish community about New York’s political direction. “As you know, we are worried about how things will look post the mayoral elections in New York,” he told Adams.

Adams emphasized that the election results did not signal a rejection of Israel by New Yorkers. “Forty-nine percent of New Yorkers made it clear that they don’t embrace the philosophy of anti-Israel,” he said. “We’re not going to deny the fact that there’s an increase in antisemitism across the globe… right now, we need clarity… and I’m going to provide that clarity to fight against hate wherever it shows its face.”

He then held a separate meeting with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, who praised Adams as “a true friend of Israel.” Sa’ar said Adams “stands, and has stood, unequivocally by Israel throughout the years” and “has always expressed a clear, moral voice against antisemitism of all kinds and in favor of Israel’s right to defend itself.”

Following the meetings in Jerusalem, Adams traveled back to Tel Aviv for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kirya. According to Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister thanked Adams “for his great support for Israel and on being a true friend of the Jewish people.”

Earlier in the trip, during the Tel Aviv reception, Adams joked that once he leaves office he might “start looking for property to move to in Israel,” drawing loud laughter from the audience.