Following in the tradition of New York City mayors, Mayor Eric Adams took a 3-day pilgrimage of sorts to two cities in Israel this month to learn about public safety technology and discuss how to best combat antisemitism.
“As mayor of the city, I’m proud to spend the time with Israel leaders from across the political spectrum. Just like New York, there’s just so many opinions and thoughts that are here, and it’s good to hear as they engage in what I consider to be healthy dialogue,” said Adams in a media briefing.
Statistically, New York State has the highest Jewish population in the country and “one of the largest Jewish populations outside of Israel.” And New York City has so far elected three Jewish mayors: Abraham D. Beame, Edward Koch, and Michael Bloomberg.
Adams, while not of a Jewish background or faith, has had ties to the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn going back to his senator days in 2012. The Jerusalem Post reported that Rabbi Yaacov Behrman, a community leader from Crown Heights, was among the first to support Adams for his mayoral run, kicking off a slew of Orthodox Jewish voters following his lead. Adams also had Jewish community leaders named in his administration, on various committees, and on his transition team.
On a personal note, Adams said he was deeply touched by his visit to the Western Wall, one of the most religious sites in the world for Jewish people. “I think of my mother, who always wanted to come to Israel. My mom never was able to do so, and just had a special thought for her while I was there,” said Adams.
Considering his history, it makes sense that his trip to Israel would focus on public safety and Israeli security technology as well as soaking up the local culture. Adams kept a jam-packed schedule with stops in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The trip was sponsored by UJA-Federation of New York in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.
In media briefs during the trip, Adams discussed his visits with the National Police Academy, the Israeli Security Agency/Shabak, and the Security Technology Showcase. He said he’s been looking for how to appropriately use drones, motorcycles to get to incidents fast during traffic delays, artificial intelligence, security cameras, early detection of criminal behavior, and tech that “specifically takes aim at balancing public safety and justice.” He has vowed “to strongly prosecute, arrest and apprehend those who carry out antisemitic acts.”
Hassan Naveed, who is the executive director of the Mayor’s Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, added that the city has been running the Breaking Bread, Building Bonds program in an effort to safely reduce hate crimes and unite communities of differing backgrounds. Adams originally began the program boroughwide in 2020 while in office as Brooklyn borough president.
“We’ve noticed the course of many of these gatherings is that these people that are sitting with folks they’ve never sat with before,” said Naveed. “They’re engaging with neighbors that they live with on the streets for quite a while, but they haven’t had the opportunity to be able to really say anything more than hi and hello. And so to be able to have a conversation with someone who lives on the same street as you after many years, and being able to build a relationship, understand where they’re coming from, also learn from each other, itself really seeks to end up strengthening our community’s needs collectively.”
While Adams seemingly has solidified his relationships with the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in the states and overseas, Palestinian New Yorkers were less than pleased about his trip.
“I listened. I didn’t weigh in. As I stated, I think the people of Israel will determine their destiny,” said Adams.
Adams purposely avoided making any declarative statement on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the reported move away from reforms to a far-right government or about the centuries-long bloody feud between the Israeli government and Palestinian groups. He said that he refrained from offering any of his own opinions during the visit.
“I would like to point out it’s essential to clarify that these discussions do not translate into any kind of definitive stance on the complex geopolitical issues surrounding Israel or the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said Communications Deputy Mayor Fabien Levy in a media briefing, “And this administration believes in promoting dialogue, understanding cooperation on mutual areas of interest, while also acknowledging the complexities and sensitivities inherent to global affairs.”
However, Levy said in a social media post that Adams did meet with Palestinians, Ethiopian Jews, organizers in the protest movement, and other diverse voices.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.