COMMUNITY/ACTIVISM

Eric Adams

Mayor

New York City's second Black mayor made combating antisemitism central to his administration during 2024-2025, defying political pressure as Jewish hate crimes surged to 62 percent of all bias incidents citywide in early 2025—the highest concentration against any community. In May 2025, Adams established the nation's first municipal Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism led by Rabbi Moshe Davis. He signed multiple executive orders recognizing the IHRA definition of antisemitism, banned city participation in BDS, and published a comprehensive December 2025 antisemitism report as his "blueprint for 2026" before leaving office in January 2026. "Antisemitism is an attack not only on Jewish New Yorkers, but on the very idea of New York City," Adams declared. The longtime friend of the Jewish community—who once moved his mayoral inauguration to avoid Shabbat—filled senior administration roles with Jewish leaders including NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. Adams called NYC "the Tel Aviv of America" while navigating criticism from progressives over his Jewish Advisory Council's Orthodox composition and from prosecutors over corruption charges.