Mayor Eric Adams met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday as part of his taxpayer-funded multi-day trip to the Holy Land — as he took a veiled swipe at his successor Zohran Mamdani’s incoming tenure.

In what could be his final foreign trip as mayor, Adams said he met with Netanyahu to reaffirm New York City’s ties with Jerusalem, with the Big Apple housing the largest Jewish population in the world outside of Israel.

“Just met with Prime Minister @netanyahu where we discussed the fight against antisemitism and the unbreakable bond between New York City and Israel,” Adams wrote on X.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in Tel Aviv. X/IsraeliPM

Adams went to reaffirm New York City’s bond with Israel as he prepares to exit the office. X/IsraeliPM

“We stand strong, proud, and united against antisemitism and all other forms of hate,” he said.

Adams, who left for Israel on Friday, emphasized the connection with Israel was important — a tie he feared could be undone under the incoming mayor Mamdani, who has been a vocal critic of Israel and vowed to arrest Netanyahu if the PM sets foot in the Big Apple.

The mayor also delivered a message to Jewish New Yorkers, saying he didn’t want to “sugarcoat” the rise of antisemitism in the city and around the world since the war in Gaza began.

“I think this is a period where they [Jews in New York City] need to be very conscious that there’s a level of global hostility towards the Jewish community,” Adams said in an event on Sunday, referencing rising rates of antisemitism.

NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani vowed that he would follow international law and arrest Netanyahu if he were to set foot in the Big Apple. Matthew McDermott

Adams posed for a photo with IDF soldiers in the City of David as part of his Israeli visit. Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office

“If I was a Jewish New Yorker with children, I would be concerned right now,” he said, according to the Forward.

By the end of 2024, antisemitic incidents marked 54% of all hate crime reports in the Big Apple, with 345 anti-Jewish incidents logged, according to the NYPD.

“I’m not going to lie. I’m not going to pretend as though everything is fine,” Adams told the Forward in an interview Monday.

Adams also met with former Hamas hostages, including Bar Kuperstein (right). Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office

“Those who want to interpret my candid view of what’s playing out now in our city and across the globe, they can do so.” 

Adams said his visit to Israel was meant to show Jewish New Yorkers that he would remain an ally even after he exits the mayor’s office at the end of the year.

“As I finish, I wanted to come back here to Israel and let you know that I served you as the mayor, but I want to continue to have the title that’s more important to me than anything: I’m your brother,” he said. 

Adams went on to meet with the Israeli leader in Tel Aviv, with Netanyahu thanking Adams “for his great support for Israel and on being a true friend of the Jewish people,” according to the prime minister’s office.

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The friendship between the leaders of New York City and Israel stands in great contrast with the relationship between Mamdani and Netanyahu.

Mamdani has repeatedly said he’d order the NYPD to arrest Netanyahu if the prime minister came to the city, complying with the warrant put out by the International Criminal Court — which the US does not recognize — over his alleged crimes against humanity.

Adams prayed by Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Sunday.

The socialist mayor-elect has also rejected calls for him to visit Israel, a decades-long tradition by New York City mayors as a show of support for the Jewish community.

Despite his comments against Netanyahu, Mamdani insisted on Monday that he will represent Jewish New Yorkers and that he didn’t mind Adams’ trip to Israel.

“You know the mayor is free to travel wherever he would like or spend his time however he’d like in the remaining weeks and months of his administration,” Mamdani said during an unrelated event.

“I am looking forward not only to deliver for the many Jewish New Yorkers that were a core part of this campaign, but frankly, for each and every Jewish New Yorker across the five boroughs as it will be my responsibility that I will uphold to not only protect Jewish New Yorkers, but to celebrate and cherish them in the city,” he said. 

Mamdani also dodged a question about what would happen if Netanyahu should show up at his inauguration. 

Netanyahu has mocked Mamdani’s threat as “silly,” and has repeatedly stated that he is not afraid to travel to New York City.

Along with the political visits, Adams’ tour of Israel included a stop at the Western Wall and meeting with former Hamas hostages.

During that meeting, Adams invited former captives Bar Kuperstein, Sagi Dekel-Chen and Yarden Bibas to visit the Big Apple and watch the ball drop in Times Square during the city’s big New Year’s Eve celebration.

— Additional reporting by Matthew Fischetti