Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams called yesterday's massacre at Sydney's Bondi Beach the “actual application of the globalization of the intifada," condemning the call for global violence against Jews that has been a common feature of anti-Israel protests in the two years since the October 7 massacre.
Adams made the statements during an announcement of increased security at Jewish institutions over the Hanukkah holiday.
“That attack in Sydney is exactly what it means to globalize intifada. We saw the actual application of the globalization of intifada in Sydney,” he said. “This attack did not come out of nowhere. It came out as a consequence of Islamic extremists. We have to be clear on that."
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch also called the Sydney massacre “part of a wider assault on Jewish life” and pledged that the NYPD would be ready to confront threats to Jews in New York City.
Adams, a supporter of the Jewish community, is in his final month in office. His successor, Zohran Mamdani, has refused to condemn calls to "globalize the Intifada" and opposes Zionism as an ideology.
In an interview with the New York Post over the weekend, Adams warned that "dark days" may be ahead under Mamdani's tenure, stating: “There needs to be a clear denouncement of ‘globalize the intifada.’ There needs to be a clear denouncement of people standing in front of a house of worship and calling for harm to a particular group. A mayor must not only lead based on what they say, but what they do. He has to send a very clear message that antisemitism and hate of any faith will not have a place in the city.”
Mamdani condemned the Sydney massacre as a "vile act of antisemitic terror" and stated that he would work to “keep Jewish New Yorkers safe.”