New York Mayor Eric Adams delivered a powerful, emotional speech condemning rising antisemitism, vowing to defend Jewish New Yorkers and calling out those who normalize hate under the guise of “art” or activism.
In a stirring and unapologetic address on Thursday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams drew a clear moral line in the sand—denouncing the alarming normalization of antisemitism across America and vowing that New York will never bow to hate or terror sympathizers.
Speaking with passion and conviction, Adams condemned a recent anti-Israel art installation on Governor’s Island that included praise for Hamas and vile antisemitic imagery, calling it “beyond the pale” and “a vile, antisemitic exhibit masquerading as art.”
“The unleashed hate that has spread throughout our city, around this country, and across the globe has been weighing on my heart,” Adams said. “Putting a Jewish star on the robe of a Klansman, equating Zionism with Nazism, and declaring love for Hamas—this is not expression. This is hate.”
The exhibit, swiftly removed after public outrage, reflected a deeper societal sickness, the mayor warned—a growing institutionalization of antisemitism that echoes the systemic racism of America’s past.
“As an African American, I know what it means when institutions normalize horrors,” Adams said. “But antisemitism is a virus that mutates. It finds new forms, and we are watching it spread before our eyes.”
Adams drew a sharp distinction between legitimate criticism of Israel and open hatred for Jews, stating unequivocally:
“Hamas is a terrorist organization that murders gay people, Jews, and Christians. Praising Hamas or refusing to condemn calls to ‘globalize the intifada’ is not activism—it’s complicity in hate.”
The mayor also condemned the rise of antisemitic rhetoric on college campuses and social media, warning that many young people are embracing dangerous slogans without understanding their genocidal meaning.
“It has sadly become the ‘in’ thing,” Adams said. “But antisemitism should concern every American. When hate becomes acceptable against one group, it soon threatens us all.”
Adams invoked powerful moments from history to remind New Yorkers of the Jewish community’s deep solidarity with African Americans during the civil rights struggle:
“Jewish Americans stood with Black Americans when racism and bigotry didn’t directly concern them. Today, we must stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters as they did for us.”
Citing data from the NYPD, Adams revealed that 57% of hate crimes in New York City target Jews, including a recent attack on a man in Midtown simply for wearing a yarmulke.
“We will never surrender our city to hate,” Adams declared. “Not to those who shout for an intifada, not to those who refuse to condemn it, and not to those who mask antisemitism in the name of art or politics.”
Concluding with an emotional appeal, the mayor said:
“Your pain has always been my pain. I fight hate not as a politician, but as a father and as a man who believes that New York must remain a city where every person—Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Black, or White—can thrive in safety and dignity.”
Adams’ speech was hailed by Jewish leaders as one of the strongest condemnations of antisemitism ever delivered by a New York mayor, reaffirming the city’s historic role as a fortress of tolerance and a defender of Israel’s right to exist.
