New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke out Thursday against the rise in antisemitism in an unusual address to New Yorkers that came after a Jewish tourist was attacked in Midtown this week. 

Adams did not mention politics or the current mayor’s race that has focused on the pro-Palestinian sympathies of Zohran Mamdani, but by choosing to give the speech five days before the election, it was hard not see it as something of a rebuke. 

“When we are silent in the face of hatred, hate will spread,” Adams said. 

“Antisemitism has sadly become the in thing”  

Jewish leaders and Mamdani’s opponents Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa have questioned Mamdani’s past statements about the war in the Middle East and his refusal to say he will recognize Israel as a Jewish state. 

“Antisemitism has sadly become the in thing. And with the help of social media, we are watching it infect our young people,” Adams said. 

Asked about the mayor’s speech, a spokesperson for Mamdani said, “We won’t be weighing in on that.” 

“This right here is beyond the pale”

Adams said 57% of hate crimes in New York City are against Jewish people. He pointed to two incidents this week that are emblematic of an issue he said was weighing on his heart. Those were the attack on Israeli tourist Rami Glickstein, beaten in Midtown while wearing a yarmulka, and an unauthorized art exhibit on Governors Island. 

“Let me show you some of this hate-filled art,” Adams said during his speech. “Putting a Jewish star on the robe of a Klansman, equating Zionism with Nazism and fascism, stating that you are a Hamas lover, and saying that Israel’s existence is beyond the pale. Let me be very clear: This right here is beyond the pale.” 

“When ignorance and bigotry combine”

Adams has given numerous speeches against antisemitism during his term in office, always emphasizing his close connection to Israel and the Jewish people. He said he was moved to talk about the art installation. 

“Because it reveals the dark underbelly of hate. And it exposes just how deep hate has seeped into our institutions. As installations like this somehow go up in the first place, it is also a stark reminder of what happens when ignorance and bigotry combine,” Adams said. 

The speech was unusual because it came just a short time after he campaigned in Harlem with Cuomo, where a number of Muslim leaders endorsed the former governor. 

Adams notified the press about 15 minutes before he spoke. 

More from CBS News