New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Jewish people in New York City should be scared when Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) enters office, according to a report from The New York Times.

“If I were a Jewish New Yorker, I’d be concerned about my children,” Adams said Sunday in Tel Aviv, according to the Times. “There is something to be worried about.”

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shook up his city’s politics after beating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary in June. He then repeated the same feat in a general election victory earlier this month.

The Hill has reached out to Mamdani’s transition team for comment on the incumbent’s remarks.

Earlier this year, Jewish Democrats on Capitol Hill expressed worries about Mamdani’s primary victory, noting his previous refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” or acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state, amid rising antisemitism in the U.S.

Mamdani’s popularity has provoked intense scrutiny of his statements regarding Israel, including his backing of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. The young democratic socialist’s political success also came as Israel faced heavy criticism over its treatment of Palestinians amid its war in Gaza.

Throughout the 2025 mayoral campaign, Adams made similar remarks about Jewish New Yorkers if Mamdani were to win. This spring, running as an independent, he intended to run on the “Endantisemitism” ballot line.

Other groups and public figures have expressed concern about Mamdani as well. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) launched the “Mamdani Monitor,” a tracker following policies, appointments and actions by his administration that it sees as possibly harmful to the safety of the Jewish community.

But, outspoken Democrats, such as strategist David Axelrod, have defended the incoming mayor.

“As a Jew & son of a Jewish refugee, I’m alarmed by the rise of antisemitism. The ADL’s mission is to call it out when they see it,” Axelrod said on social platform X. “But I found their response to Mamdani’s election shockingly gratuitous, inflammatory and deeply irresponsible.”

Still, speaking in Israel over the weekend, Adams said the Jewish “community must prepare itself” because “everything is not fine” after Mamdani’s victory, the Times reported.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.