Critics slam New York mayor Eric Adam's visit to Israel, Netanyahu meeting

New York City Mayor Eric Adams' visit to Israel this week raises eyebrows among many of his city's residents and others as the local leader visits a country in crisis over its judicial overhaul and stepped-up raids on Palestinian homes and villages.

The three-day visit, which Adams said was to discuss immigration, has included a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with leaders of the country's pro-democracy protest movement. Both meetings were held behind closed doors with little reporting on what was discussed, and it is unclear what would have been discussed on immigration, given the two countries' differing policies on the matter.

"I have no idea why he would bother to meet Netanyahu, given that there's largely been avoidance of meetings with him by American officials, except for the recent Democratic trip," Adam Shapiro, director of advocacy for Israel-Palestine at Democracy for the Arab World Now, told The New Arab, noting that though some Democratic members of Congress have met with the Israeli prime minister, US President Joe Biden has yet to meet with Netanyahu since taking office. 

"Adams said he wanted to look at how Israeli mayors integrated immigrants, which is a bizarre thing because non-Jewish immigrants are treated badly," he said. "This trip doesn't benefit him in any way."

Though Adams' trip to Israel, paid for by the charity United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York, might appear odd at this time of heightened tension in Israel, visits to the country by New York mayors are nothing new. Every New York City mayor since Israel's establishment in 1948 has paid a visit, essentially making it a 'right of passage' for the city's leaders. 

Over the years, US mayors have coordinated with Israel in law enforcement information and training. Though Adams didn't highlight this as a reason for his visit, accompanying him on his trip is New York Police Department First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella. 

Since taking office, Adams, whose approval ratings have been meagre since taking office in 2022, has faced criticism at home for favouring funding for law enforcement over other public services. This has made his visit to Israel a sign to his critics that he is not prioritising his own city's problems.

"I'm a lifelong Jewish New Yorker. There are so many things we're facing here. Housing, schools and libraries are being defunded. Adams has no business being anywhere but New York right now," Colette Gerstmann, a chapter organiser with the Jewish Voice for Peace, told TNA.

She noted that polls show increasing support by US Jews for Palestinian rights.

"He's made it very clear that he is someone who, through his policies, is taking money away from public programmes and reallocating it to policing," she said. "I think a lot of people see that and see through his rhetoric. It just shows how out of touch he is."