Mayor Eric Adams Condemns Antisemitic Art Exhibit on Governor’s Island

New York City Mayor Eric Adams strongly condemned an art exhibit on Governor’s Island this week that featured pro-Hamas and antisemitic imagery, calling the display “vile” and a warning of how hatred can spread.

Speaking at a press event Thursday evening, Adams described the exhibit, which was unsanctioned and quickly removed, as including images with phrases such as “Hamas lover” a Magen Dovid on a Ku Klux Klan hood, a depiction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a Hitler mustache accompanied by the words “Zionism, Nazism, Fascism,” and profanity-laced attacks on Israel.

“This right here is beyond the pale,” Adams said. “As questions about where that art came from started to pour in, a shocking number of people were afraid to call this out for what it is, but I am not one of those people. This was a vile, antisemitic exhibit.”

Adams stressed that activism is no excuse for hatred. “It is a stark reminder of what happens when ignorance and bigotry combine. This incident disturbs me and it should disturb anyone with a conscience,” he said.

The mayor warned that antisemitism is evolving and can appear in new forms. “Antisemitism is a virus that mutates. It comes back in different forms and finds new ways to hide in plain sight,” he said. “Disagreeing with the policies of Israel’s government does not make someone antisemitic, but to openly praise Hamas at an exhibit in a government facility sends a message of institutionalizing hatred.”

Adams, who endorsed former Governor and Independent mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo after leaving the race last month, slammed far-left, antisemitic candidate Zohran Mamdani. “We will never surrender our city to hate or to those who want to globalize the intifada,” Adams said, referencing Mamdani’s earlier defense of the slogan “Globalize the intifada.”

The speech comes a day after Adams joined Cuomo in meeting leaders of both Satmar communities in Williamsburg, in a display of solidarity.

Noting the prevalence of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the city, Adams said on Thursday, “Jews are targeted in 57% of all hate crimes in New York City. If this were a stat for any group, we would respond accordingly.”

He concluded with a call for unity and tolerance. “We must bring down the temperature. Too many across this country are ready to go to war with one another, to start at a place of disagreement, to believe in only the worst of one another. I know we can change that. I know that we can move forward with love and acceptance.”