NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, as his opponent in the mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani, accused the premier of genocide.

“I was particularly proud to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his address to the United Nations, to thank him for defending the Western world and our way of life,” Adams said in a statement.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu laid out a clear case that those who call for the death of Jews across the globe are also calling for the death of Americans,” Adams said.

Adams is a distant third in polls ahead of the city’s mayoral election in November.

He has maintained his staunch support for Israel in recent months, even as public opinion in the US and New York becomes increasingly hostile to the Jewish state, according to polls. Adams is a longtime backer of Israel with deep ties to Jewish communities in the city, particularly in Brooklyn, where he served as a local legislator and police officer before becoming mayor.

The frontrunner in the mayoral race is the far-left New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who has made anti-Israel activism central to his politics.

In second place is former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, a supporter of Israel who has voiced

© The Times of Israel