President Isaac Herzog met in Jerusalem with New York Mayor Eric Adams, who arrived in Israel for a brief visit together with Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis. The meeting offered both leaders a chance to reaffirm ties at a moment of uncertainty about political shifts in the United States and intensified antisemitism worldwide.
The meeting opened with Herzog expressing deep appreciation for Adams’s public support during the traumatic days following the October 7 attacks. He reminded the mayor that his decision to travel to Israel in the earliest stage of the war had been viewed as an act of solidarity that Israelis would not forget. The president also praised Adams’s leadership in New York, recalling his own visit to the city and the close cooperation he witnessed between the mayor’s office and the New York Police Department.
[1]New York City Mayor Eric Adams meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on November 17, 2025. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
Changes in New York’s political environment were being watched closely in Israel, and the city’s partnership with the Jewish community remained essential, Herzog said. He emphasized that Adams’s presence in Israel was meaningful at a time when antisemitic rhetoric was again spreading across public life. “This is your home,” Herzog told him. “Your friends are here.”
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Adams, who leaves office soon, said he wanted to make clear that nearly half of New York voters still support Israel and reject attempts to portray the city as shifting away from its longstanding ties. He pledged that his advocacy on behalf of Israel and Jewish communities worldwide would continue after he steps down. In his remarks, Adams pointed to Israel’s contributions in innovation and technology, saying those achievements improve lives globally. He acknowledged the surge in antisemitism in the United States, adding that combating hatred requires “clarity in message,” which he vowed to uphold.
Herzog responded that strong voices are essential today as antisemitic narratives—old and new—resurface in the United States and abroad. He referenced the historic moment fifty years ago when his father tore up the UN resolution equating Zionism with racism, noting that the struggle against this “oldest hatred” is far from over.
Both leaders emphasized the need for moral clarity and partnership as Jewish communities worldwide confront escalating threats.