Metro

Adams walks political tightrope during Israeli trip in wake of controversial judicial reforms

By
Social Links for Craig McCarthy
Published Aug. 22, 2023
Updated Aug. 22, 2023, 3:44 p.m. ET

Mayor Eric Adams thrust himself into Israel’s political turmoil Tuesday by meeting with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leaders protesting the PM’s controversial judicial changes.

But Hizzoner — well-known for often going off-script during public appearances — appeared to walk the political tightrope by staying publicly neutral on the hot-button issue afterward.

“I wouldn’t want others to tell me how to run [New York City],” the mayor said. “We should all watch history play out … not to interfere but to learn. I think the people of Israel should make the determination of how to move forward.

“I listened, I didn’t weigh in,” he claimed.

The mayor’s trip, which some pundits believe is aimed at courting Jewish voters back home, comes as Adams faces his own crises, with 82% of New Yorkers recently polled by Siena College saying the influx of migrants in the state has become a “serious problem.”

Mayor Eric Adams of New York, center, visits the Western Wall, the holiest spot where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Adams spent the second day of his visit to Israel touring holy sites before a planned meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he sought to avoid publicly weighing into the political crises plaguing the nation. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The mayor went to the Western Wall between meetings with both sides of the judicial reform issue. AP

He first met with protest leaders Karine Nahon and Gigi Levy-Weiss. 

The mayor then had his sitdown with Netanyahu, who praised Adams as a “great friend of Israel,” according to the Times of Israel.

Netanyahu has been under heavy fire for pushing a new law limiting the power of Israel’s judicial oversight in the country, a move that anti-reforms say is a step toward a dictatorship, sparking widescale protests.

The PM”s office said in a statement that Adams and Netanyahu “discussed the unlimited possibilities for cooperation between New York City and the State of Israel in the fields of technology, innovation and tourism.” 

Mayor Eric Adams of New York visits the Western Wall, the holiest spot where Jews can pray, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. Adams spent the second day of his visit to Israel touring holy sites before a planned meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he sought to avoid publicly weighing into the political crises plaguing the nation. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Adams said his mother always wanted to go to the Western Wall. AP

After the meeting, the two went to an exhibit for lab-grown meat that an Israeli company was developing.

Adams claimed a key reason for the trip was to help Israeli tech companies expand in New York City.

The mayor — who Tuesday also visited the Western Wall, a place he told reporters his mother always wanted to visit — praised the Israeli people for their “extremely warm” welcome.