NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, as his opponent in the mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, accused the premier of genocide.
“I was particularly proud to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his address to the United Nations, to thank him for defending the Western world and our way of life,” Adams said in a statement.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu laid out a clear case that those who call for the death of Jews across the globe are also calling for the death of Americans,” Adams said.
Adams is a distant third in polls ahead of the city’s mayoral election in November.
He has maintained his staunch support for Israel in recent months, even as public opinion in the US and New York becomes increasingly hostile to the Jewish state, according to polls. Adams is a longtime backer of Israel with deep ties to Jewish communities in the city, particularly in Brooklyn, where he served as a local legislator and police officer before becoming mayor.
The frontrunner in the mayoral race is the far-left New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who has made anti-Israel activism central to his politics.
In second place is former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, a supporter of Israel who has voiced some criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza in recent weeks, but generally maintained his pro-Israel line. Cuomo has not met with Netanyahu publicly this week.
Mamdani denounced Netanyahu in a Friday statement, saying the Israeli government was “committing a genocide,” and criticizing Adams and Cuomo for their cordial relationships with Netanyahu.
“A mayor cannot end these atrocities. But they can speak for the values of this city: a commitment to human rights for all people, including Palestinians, and a yearning for peace and justice,” Mamdani said.
Mamdani started accusing Israel of genocide two weeks after the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, before Israel had started ground operations in Gaza. In his statement the day after the Hamas attack, Mamdani mourned the dead on both sides, while blaming Israel.
Mamdani has repeatedly vowed to arrest Netanyahu if he visits New York while Mamdani is mayor, although legal experts say the mayor has no authority to make such an arrest.
The responses from Adams and Mamdani illustrated the opposing stances toward Israel between the current administration and mayors’ historical support for Israel, and the deep hostility toward Israel in the likely next administration.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and antisemitism were major campaign issues ahead of the mayoral primary in June, but have receded since then, with candidates more focused on issues like affordability and crime.
New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and Jews are targeted in hate crimes far more than any other group in the city, although the rate of antisemitic incidents has slowed in recent months, according to police data.
Mamdani won a stunning victory in the primary, making him the Democratic party candidate in the general election and the heavy favorite to become the next mayor.
The Jewish vote is difficult to gauge because surveys have reported varying results, likely due to relatively small sample sizes for Jews.
Recent polls have shown Adams, Cuomo, and Mamdani as the favored candidates for Jews, with Mamdani generally in the lead.
A July poll of Jewish New Yorkers found that Mamdani was the leading candidate with 37% support, while just over half said Mamdani was antisemitic, and 58% said the city would be less safe with him as mayor.