Embattled NYC mayor touts crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests to Jewish journalists
Eric Adams said having Jews in senior roles in his administration is a ‘strong symbol’ amid rising antisemitism
New York City Mayor Eric Adams at a roundtable with Jewish reporters on Dec. 19. Photo by Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office
By Jacob Kornbluh December 19, 2024
New York City Mayor Eric Adams touted his handling of pro-Palestinian protests at colleges and across the city in a roundtable with Jewish journalists on Thursday, saying police violence and his own political position on the war in Gaza had kept violence and antisemitism at bay.
Adams said the New York Police Department was careful not to infringe on free speech as it patrolled more than 4,000 demonstrations since the war that started with the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, and only made arrests when activists committed assault or harassment.
“We pushed the envelope,” he told more than two dozen mostly Orthodox reporters in an hourlong conversation at City Hall. “We were very clear, we are not going to accept that,” he said.
Some elected officials had criticized Adams for his crackdown on the protests. The mayor, who was elected in 2021 with support from Orthodox voting blocs, also took heat from Arab and Muslim leaders for his generally pro-Israel stance throughout the war. On Thursday, he was unapologetic about his opposition to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
“We had to make sure we sent a loud message,” he said, that the city would not tolerate attacks on Jewish residents or destruction of their property. “Clarity was important. We did not send mixed messages,” Adams continued. “I saw it happen in other cities. It didn’t happen here.” As a result, he said, the city “was able to clamp down” on the intensity of the protests “and now you do not see as many as you saw before.”
Appealing for Jewish support ahead of a mayoral primary
Adams faces an April trial on federal bribery and fraud charges but has nonetheless said he plans to run for reelection. Seven Democrats have already declared their candidacies to challenge him in the June primary, including the current and former comptrollers, Brad Lander and Scott Stringer; State Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos; Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, former state legislator Michael Blake and Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor.
Jews make up 12% of the city, according to a recent Federation survey, and more than a third of those ages 18 to 29 identify as Orthodox.
Adams declared himself a “modern-day Maccabi” at a pre-Hanukkah party he hosted at Gracie Mansion earlier this week. When I asked him to explain, he just chuckled.
At the City Hall event on Thursday, he nibbled carrot sticks as he chatted about his visits to the Ohel — grave — of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the longtime head rabbi of the Chabad movement. He told a story from the 2021 mayoral race, when he and Andrew Yang were battling for the Orthodox vote, and Devorah Halberstam — whose son Ari was killed in an antisemitic attack in 1994 — told him she dreamt that the rebbe urged Adams to visit the gravesite.
“I did just that,” Adams said. “And as you know, we are standing here as Mayor Adams and not Mayor Yang.”
Adams was accompanied by his Jewish senior aides, and ticked off a list of Jews in his administration including Jessica Tisch, the new head of the NYPD; Robert Tucker, commissioner of the fire department, Fred Kreizman, commissioner for community affairs; Zach Iscol, the emergency management commissioner; Fabien Levy, deputy mayor for communications, and several others. Menashe Shapiro, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff, moderated the discussion.
“You see yourself in my administration, in a very significant place,” he told the reporters. “I think it’s a strong symbol when antisemitism is on the rise to have strong voices and advocates.”
