Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams was welcomed in Israel this week with the praise expected of a national leader, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and other leading officials. It was his second visit to the Jewish state as Mayor, underscoring the vast policy contrast to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who routinely calls Israel an apartheid state engaging in genocide.
“If I were a Jewish New Yorker, I’d be concerned about my children,” Adams said in Tel Aviv, where he was honored by the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement. “There is something to be worried about.”
The visit was as much a warning about rising anti-Semitism as it was a highlighting of Israel’s role in combating terrorism with intelligence and technology.
“In New York City, drones have played a crucial role in preventing subway surfing tragedies, responding to building collapses, and more,” he remarked on his visit to an Israeli drone manufacturer. “I saw firsthand the potential of this technology to strengthen public safety in our city.”
Then there were the spiritual elements, in which Adams met former hostages, noted their “resilience and courage,” prayed at the Kosel, and toured the City of David with Israeli soldiers.
In an interview with the Kan news station, Adams said that the purpose of his meetings with Israelis was “to assure them that 49 percent of New Yorkers do not buy into the rhetoric of the hatred toward Israel.”
Adams’ critics condemned the taxpayer-funded visit as a waste of money, coming after his visit to Albania, and he is flying to Uzbekistan after Israel, but Adams argues that his experience as mayor is sought by leaders abroad, a role that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg also took up, advising cities on economics, public safety, and urban planning.
Having won with more than 50 percent of the vote, Mamdani and his allies are setting their sights on exacting revenge against Democratic incumbents who did not endorse his mayoral run. In the Bronx, Rep. Ritchie Torres is running for his fourth term, with his primary opponents focusing on his unabashed support for Israel. Former Assemblyman Michael Blake, who used to attend AIPAC events, now uses the pro-Israel organization as a cudgel against Torres.
“In 2025, Ritchie has nearly $15 million on hand, largely from AIPAC, while many of his constituents barely have $15 to get by,” Blake stated in his campaign announcement video. “Ritchie Torres cares more about Bibi than he cares about the Bronx. More about AIPAC than he does about your academics.”
Blake’s description of Israel’s war effort in Gaza as genocidal stands in contrast to his 2017 speech at AIPAC. “Traveling to Israel made me a better legislator, better activist, and helped me to understand that as a leader within my community and the Democratic Party,” he said at the time, “I have a responsibility to support America’s friend and ally, Israel.”
Former public defender Dalourny Memorin also focused on Gaza in her challenge to Torres. “The weaponization of hunger, the exploitation of the powerless, must have no role in politics. Not in this country or abroad. Not in Gaza or on Gun Hill Road,” she said.
In Brooklyn, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made a last-minute endorsement of Mamdani that focused on affordability and opposing President Trump, but it did not discourage Councilman Chi Osse from declaring his primary run against the seven-term incumbent. In his remarks concerning Gaza, he argued that supporters of Israel “will be remembered poorly in history.”
Although Mamdani has not endorsed Osse, he noted his talent and accomplishments, notably legislation that shifted the responsibility for broker fees from the tenant to the landlord. The 27-year-old lawmaker did not attend Mamdani’s victory party, a snub interpreted by some observers as a rift within the Democratic left.
Rep. Dan Goldman, whose district stretches from downtown Manhattan to Park Slope and the edge of Borough Park, won his seat narrowly against multiple primary opponents in 2022. Although he was the lead counsel in the first impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, Goldman’s progressive credentials are overshadowed by his support for Israel and refusal to endorse Mamdani.
He is challenged by outgoing Comptroller Brad Lander, whose political arc reads like a Jewish tragedy. Having invested so much of his reputation in Mamdani’s mayoral run, he did not earn a position on his transition team nor incoming cabinet. Instead, the DSA is endorsing Councilwoman Alexa Avilés as their preferred primary challenger against Goldman.
In Queens, former City Council staffer Chuck Park announced his candidacy against Rep. Grace Meng, calling her “an absentee representative” who receives money from corporations and lobbyists.
As our columnist Manny Behar noted last week, “For the members of the Democratic Socialists of America and likeminded groups, politics is their religion. Their social lives revolve around their political involvement. They will spend their time knocking on doors, working phone banks, and attending political fundraisers.”
We do not have the numbers, resources, or strength to put out electoral fires happening in so many districts, but we should focus on realistic expectations. Earlier this week, Queens Assemblyman Sam Berger visited his alma mater, Mesivta Ateres Yaakov, where he spoke on his experience in government as a means of doing chesed and kiddush Hashem. Perhaps among the students there will be at least one who will follow Berger to a career in politics.
In Far Rockaway, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer-Amato announced that she will not be running for reelection next year. Considering her district, it is possible for a young Jewish candidate to run for her seat. Darchei Torah alumnus Phil Goldfeder serves as an example, having served in this seat before Pheffer-Amato, first elected at age 30 and serving for three terms.
In central Queens, Council Members Jim Gennaro and Lynn Schulman are term-limited. Their terms end in 2029, giving a young candidate from our community ample time to build experience, form coalitions, deliver results, and run for their seats. Behar noted that demographics are not in our favor, as the Jewish percentage of the city’s population is down to ten percent. This is why visibility matters more than ever. We need to see observant Jews in public office.
