When a major American mayor steps off a plane in Israel and says, “If I were a Jewish New Yorker I would be concerned about my children,” you stop and listen.
This week in Tel Aviv, outgoing New York Mayor Eric Adams addressed rising antisemitism during an event hosted by the Combat Antisemitism organization. His words were not dramatic. They were honest.
“We need to be honest about the moment and cannot sugarcoat it,” Adams said.
— JNS, Nov. 17, 2025
Adams, a longtime supporter of Israel, did something rare for a public official. He spoke plainly about the cultural shift happening both in New York and across the West. He said antisemitism is now considered “cool and hip” among young activists shaped by TikTok, influencers, and revisionist narratives. A generation has been catechized by lies.
He pointed to the now-familiar contradiction:
“You have people walking around the country with signs saying Queers for Palestine. And that is queer when the only place you can walk around in the Middle East being queer is Israel.”
The mayor said bluntly that the conversation has been “hijacked.”
Israel Lost the Narrative
Adams expressed grief that the human reality of October 7 never reached the American public. People heard the headlines, but not the heart. The stories of Israeli families butchered, raped, burned, and kidnapped remained abstract, while propagandists flooded social media with images stripped of context and weaponized for sympathy.
Israel’s supporters, he said, “failed to come up with messaging that connected with everyday people.” Movements hostile to Israel filled the void.
“The Zohrans of the world shoved the images of every baby killed in Gaza and became a symbol of what people were angry about,” he said.
The result was a narrative inversion: terrorists framed as victims, and victims framed as aggressors.
“The New York Jewish community must prepare themselves”
Adams warned that Mamdani’s election will intensify what has already begun. When a mayoral candidate refuses to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and still wins by a landslide, the message is unmistakable.
“People are comfortable with being antisemitic,” Adams said.
He described a city going in the wrong direction, a place where abnormal has become normal, and where hostility toward Jews is rising, not receding.
To his audience in Israel, he said with gravity:
“The New York Jewish community must prepare themselves. This is a period where you need to be conscious about the level of global hostility towards the Jewish community. If you say everything is fine you are setting yourself up for failure.”
Exit polls suggest that about one third of New York Jews voted for Mamdani. That split highlights the growing divide between liberal American Jewish politics and the reality Israel lives with every day.
At the end, Adams reminded his listeners that this is personal for him too:
“I’m not just your mayor. I’m your brother.”
A Call to Spiritual Clarity and Courage
For Christian women who love Israel, Adams’s warning confirms what many already sense in their spirit. Antisemitism is not just “back.” It is fashionable again. It shows up in university slogans, city elections, street protests, and now in the normalization of leaders who refuse to affirm Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
This is not a moment for panic. It is a moment for clarity.
Truth has been traded for slogans. History has been replaced with hashtags. But God’s covenants have not changed. His love for Israel has not changed. And our calling to stand with His people has not changed.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May those who love you be secure.’” (Psalm 122:6, NIV)
We do not fear the future. But we do not ignore it either. The Church must not repeat the passivity of the 1930s. We speak. We pray. We stand. We prepare.
Today’s Prayer
Lord, strengthen Your people in New York, in Israel, and around the world. Give wisdom to every Jewish parent raising children in an age of hostility. Protect them from harm. Expose lies that fuel hatred. Raise up leaders who defend truth and refuse to bow to intimidation. And give us, as Christian women who love Israel, the courage to stand firm with Your people in this urgent hour. Amen.
