Adams Targets Mamdani Over ‘Globalize the Intifada’ After Sydney Attacks
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 15: Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, speaks at an endorsement event from the union DC 37 on July 15, 2025, in New York City. Weeks after Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor, various wealthy interest groups have begun to mobilize against the 33-year-old state assemblyman. Mamdani has vowed to freeze rent hikes for a year, make buses free, and increase taxes on wealthy New Yorkers. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that he will continue his run for New York City mayor after losing to Zohran Mamdani in last month's Democratic primary. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By Eric Mack | Sunday, 14 December 2025 07:33 PM EST
Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered sharp criticism Sunday of his successor, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who has publicly resisted condemning the “globalize the intifada” movement and related messaging.
Adams referred to the recent Australian terrorist attack on Jews at a Sydney Hanukkah event as an example of Islamic extremism’s consequences. “This attack did not come out of nowhere. It came out as the consequences of Islamic extremists,” Adams stated during his news conference. “And we have to be clear on that. It’s not an attack on our Muslim brothers and sisters, who carry out their faith every day, but [it] is the hijacking of their religion by Islamic extremists.”
The mayor announced heightened Hanukkah security measures and denounced proposals to scale back aggressive policing and security protocols—a move potentially referencing Mamdani’s policy positions. “Words have meaning,” Adams emphasized. “Words have impact, and words have power. Everyone needs to understand what words mean before they repeat them, before they shout them, before they defend them. That attack in Sydney is exactly what it means to globalize [the] intifada.”
Adams mourned the victims of multiple violent incidents worldwide:
– Three U.S. service members killed in an ISIS-linked terrorist attack in Syria on Saturday.
– Two individuals shot dead and nine wounded at a Brown University mass shooting.
– Six teenagers hospitalized after an overnight shooting in Brooklyn, New York.
– At least 16 killed during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
“It is the first night of Hanukkah, the festival of lights where Jews are obligated to publicize the celebration of their faith,” Adams said. “And among the murdered victims of the attack was a rabbi with ties to Crown Heights, as well as a Holocaust survivor.”
“Let me say that again: a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor killed for being Jewish.”
“Antisemitism has no place in our city, in our society, and in our world,” Adams declared. “I will continue to fight for this community and all communities of this city and for fellow brothers and sisters from the Jewish community.”
“For the past four years, this administration has stood by the Jewish community—not just as the mayor, but as an ally, as a father, and as a human being.”
Adams pledged to confront antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric that Mamdani has previously espoused. “As human beings, we cannot just turn down the temperature of hate—this is not enough,” he added. “We must shut it off completely. Here in New York City, we must call out hate without fear and without apology because we will not be silent in the face of bigotry or hatred toward any group.”
“We’re going to be defiant. We’re going to be resilient. All New Yorkers deserve to feel proud about their heritage and safe in the displays of their pride,” Adams stated.
In his remarks, Adams extended wishes for Jewish New Yorkers celebrating Hanukkah: “Tonight, as Jewish New Yorkers celebrate Hanukkah, we honor another family of fighters, the Maccabees, who fought for the freedom of Jewish people—and they won.” He noted that the Maccabees achieved victory through spirit and belief over military might. “They did not lose hope. They did not lose faith. And so, they did not lose. We will not lose.”
“This evening, we will celebrate the first night of the miracle of Hanukkah,” Adams concluded. “No matter the tragedies we have experienced as a city, as a country, and as a globe in the last 24 hours. May we never forget that even in moments of darkness—moments that seem like they might last forever—there will always be a light.”
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
