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By Etan Nechin
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced the launch of a new Office to Combat Antisemitism in Tuesday press conference, citing a surge in antisemitic hate crimes in the city.
"Antisemitism is an attack not only on Jewish New Yorkers but on the very idea of New York City as a place where people from all backgrounds can live together," Adams said. "This office will tackle antisemitism in all of its forms, ensuring Jewish New Yorkers are protected and can thrive."
The office, led by Moshe Davis, former Jewish liaison for the Adams administration, will focus on monitoring incidents, coordinating with law enforcement, and advising on policies to curb hate crimes.
Davis, who in the press conference compared Adams to a "modern-day Maccabee" emphasized the need for a robust response. "Combating antisemitism requires a sledgehammer approach: coordinated, unapologetic, and immediate. With this office, he is strengthening his resolve to ensure Jewish New Yorkers thrive."
As its first move, Adams said the office will create an inter-agency task force and a commission of Jewish leaders to guide its work. The task force, will "monitor court cases and outcomes at all levels of the justice system, maintaining liaisons with the New York City Law Department on appropriate cases" and will "have the authority to ensure city-funded entities do not promote antisemitism."
The announcement comes amid statistics from the NYPD, which report that 62% of hate crimes in New York City during the first quarter of 2025 targeted Jewish residents, up from 54% last year.
These numbers align with a national trend. A recent Anti-Defamation League (ADL) report similarly found a rise in antisemitic incidents nationwide, recording 9,354 incidents in 2024 - an increase of 5% from the previous year. Notably, the report highlighted that, for the first time since 1979, where ADL has been tracking antisemite, most incidents were related to Israel and Zionism.
Since October 7, New York City's college campuses have become a flashpoint for accusations of antisemitism. Columbia and City University in New York have seen large-scale pro-Palestinian protests, with the Trump administration and other officials accusing them of fostering antisemitism and hostile environments for Jewish students.
Critics argue the administration - and Mayor Adams - are weaponizing antisemitism to silence legitimate criticism of Israel.
Mayor Adams' announcement quickly drew backlash. Comptroller Brad Lander, a mayoral candidate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in New York City, dismissed the initiative as a political maneuver.
"Creating a taxpayer-funded office in the waning days of his mayoralty to rhyme with his made-up personal ballot line is cynical and transparent, even for this mayor. Jews are not pawns for Eric Adams, Donald Trump, or Andrew Cuomo," Lander said.
"To combat antisemitism and other hate crimes, we need a serious, comprehensive plan - one that includes strengthening the existing Mayor's Office to Prevent Hate Crimes, bolstering the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force, partnering with the Citizens Crime Commission to tackle online extremism, and launching new anti-hate education programs."
Back-and-forth accusations over handling of antisemitism have intensified as it becomes a central issue in the upcoming mayoral elections. In the press conference, Adams accused Lander of harboring "anti-Jewish ideologies."
Adams, who is running as an independent in the November general election after a federal corruption case against him was dropped by the Trump administration, is petitioning to run on an "EndAntiSemitism" ballot line.
Others, like Democratic candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, facing a primary challenge from Brad Lander, called antisemitism "the most serious and important issue" of the race, accusing Lander of being anti-Israel for allegedly divesting the city's pension fund from Israel bonds - an accusation Lander dismissed.
Lander's response to Cuomo's attacks - in both Yiddish and English - was "get the fuck out of here. Andrew Cuomo doesn't get to tell me how to be Jewish."
Criticism has also come from progressive Jewish leaders.
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, who serves on Adams' Faith based advisory council, questioned his initiative as political maneuvering, pointing out that New York City already has exiting institutions to combat hate.
"New York City already has an effective agency to address human rights - The NYC Commission on Human Rights, where I served as a commissioner for many years" Kleinbaum said. "I am deeply concerned about antisemitism but worry that Mayor Adams is using it for political purposes."
She also mentioned the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, established by Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2019 as well as other agencies.
"We need comprehensive strategies that build on existing laws to protect all New Yorkers from hate - whether it's antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, or other forms of discrimination," She added.
Some argue that the administration's approach risks conflating efforts to combat hate with restrictions on free speech.
"Given the Trump administration's weaponization of antisemitism, New York Jews are using a critical eye to evaluate efforts that purport to counter antisemitism. We are increasingly rejecting strategies that appear politicized, or which would do harm to our democratic norms," Phylisa Wisdom, director of Jewish New York Agenda said.
"That said, we are interested to hear about the specifics of the Adams Administration's plans, including how this work will differ from the Jewish Advisory Council or Hate Crimes office."
Other have criticized the approach, arguing it relies on blunt, ineffective measures instead of addressing the root causes.
"We deserve real solutions to antisemitism, not these failed hammer-nail responses," Sophie Ellman-Golan, Director of Communications for Jews for Racial and Economic Freedom said.
"They're proudly calling it a "sledgehammer approach" as if this is a serious response, and not more of the same demonstrable policy failure that refuses to take the complexities of our hate violence crisis into account. These are not serious people."
With primaries just a month away, the debate over antisemitism - and how best to address it - is becoming central issue in the mayoral race.