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NYC Mayor Eric Adams, in interview, seeks ‘pipeline’ to mend Black-Jewish relations
(New York Jewish Week) — After attending a mayors’ gathering in Athens Wednesday to discuss solutions to antisemitism, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he wants to build “a pipeline” of young people from all walks of life to fight back against hate.
“When you see these interactions that are negative, it’s involving young people,” Adams told the New York Jewish Week in a brief phone interview from Greece. “We have to go and build up that pipeline. We have not done that, and that is where I think we made a mistake.”
Adam’s reply came in response to a question about the controversy surrounding Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who was suspended after tweeting an endorsement of a film that features Holocaust denial and other antisemitic tropes. Adams appeared to agree that the incident threatened to further cool an already lukewarm relationship between Blacks and Jews.
“The error that I believe we’ve made is that we didn’t continue to build out the pipeline, because many of those who had strong relationships between communities, some have transitioned and may have passed on,” Adams said. “Some of us are still here.”
Adams continued, “We have to start them young, doing different sporting events together, doing different video games together, doing projects together, visiting mosques, synagogues and Baptist churches.”
Mayor Eric Adams calls New York City ‘the Tel Aviv of America’ while speaking in Athens, Greece. pic.twitter.com/hvUN8OGwf9
— Jacob Henry (@jhenrynews) November 30, 2022
In a virtual press conference that followed his one-on-one with the New York Jewish Week, Adams continued with this idea, saying that the communities that value relationships between the Black and Jewish communities “must now expand and recruit and bring in other young people.”
“We have an obligation to bring those young people together and start being creative in how we foster those relationships,” Adams said. “That is what I’ve heard my mayors across the entire entire participant group in this workshop and seminar.”
In the same press conference, Adams called on federal lawmakers to take on more of a role in looking at social media’s influence on hate, adding that he wants to “convene together leaders of the social media industry.”
He also said that “it is troubling to find that many people who commit these hate crimes are not going to jail” and that he wants to hold people committing hate crimes more accountable for their actions.
The two-day summit, which began Wednesday, is a gathering of more than 50 mayors and municipal leaders from across the globe. It was created in partnership with the Combat Antisemitism Movement, a global coalition of 65 Jewish and interfaith organizations; the Center for Jewish Impact, an Israeli relationship-building organization, and the Jewish Federations of North America.
On Thursday, Adams was scheduled to visit the Beth Shalom Synagogue in Athens, lay a wreath at a Holocaust memorial and meet with the city’s Chief Rabbi, Gabriel Negrin.
During the first day of the conference, Adams was presented with the organizers’ Civic Leadership Award for “his dedicated commitment to fighting antisemitism and religious bigotry of all forms,” according to a press release.
His biggest success in that regard was also the most recent: On Nov. 10, following a tip from the Jewish-run Community Security Initiative, transit police arrested two men at Penn Station who were threatening to shoot up a synagogue. A representative of Flatbush Shomrim, a Jewish neighborhood watch group in Brooklyn, said at the time that the Jewish community of New York has “an unprecedented relationship” with the mayor.
Adams reflected on that relationship, telling the New York Jewish Week that he’s “not trying to tell them everything is alright when they don’t feel alright.”
“I notice the antisemitic acts that are happening,” Adams told the New York Jewish Week. “I’m clear that we must stop them. This is not something that started as mayor. This is how I’ve been as a state senator, as a borough president and now I’m continuing that as mayor.”
After Greece, the mayor will head to Qatar for the World Cup, which his team has described as a research trip ahead of 2026, when the global soccer tournament will include games at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
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UK Prosecutors Try to Reinstate Terrorism Charge Against Kneecap Rapper
Member of Kneecap Liam O’Hanna, also known as Liam Og O hAnnaidh and performing under the name of Mo Chara, speaks to supporters outside Woolwich Crown Court, after a UK court threw out his prosecution for a terrorism offense, in London, Britain, Sept. 26, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hannah McKay
British prosecutors sought to reinstate a terrorism charge against a member of Irish rap group Kneecap on Wednesday for displaying a flag of Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah at a London gig, after a court threw out the case last year.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, whose stage name is Mo Chara, was accused of having waved the flag of the banned Islamist group Hezbollah during a November 2024 gig.
The charge was thrown out in September after a court ruled it had originally been brought without the permission of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Attorney General, and also one day outside the six-month statutory limit.
But the Crown Prosecution Service said it would challenge the ruling and its lawyer Paul Jarvis told London’s High Court on Wednesday that permission was only required by the time Ó hAnnaidh first appeared in court, meaning the case can proceed.
Kneecap – known for their politically charged lyrics and anti-Israel activism – have said the case is an attempt to distract from what they described as British complicity in Israel’s so-called “genocide” in Gaza. Israel strongly denies committing a genocide in the coastal territory, where it launched a military campaign against Hamas after the Palestinian terrorist group invaded Israeli territory.
J.J. Ó Dochartaigh, who goes by DJ Próvaí, was in court but Ó hAnnaidh was not required to attend and was not present.
KNEECAP SAYS PROSECUTION A DISTRACTION
Ó hAnnaidh was charged in May with displaying the Hezbollah flag in such a way that aroused reasonable suspicion that he supported the banned group, after footage emerged of him holding the flag on stage while saying “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”
Kneecap have previously said the flag was thrown on stage during their performance and that they “do not, and have never, supported Hamas or Hezbollah.”
The group, who rap about Irish identity and support the republican cause of uniting Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, have become increasingly vocal about the war in Gaza, particularly after Ó hAnnaidh was charged in May.
During their performance at June’s Glastonbury Festival in England, Ó hAnnaidh accused Israel of committing war crimes, after Kneecap displayed pro-Palestinian messages during their set at the Coachella Festival in California in April.
Kneecap have since been banned from Hungary and Canada, also canceling a tour of the United States due to a clash with Ó hAnnaidh’s court appearances.
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German-Israel Deal Strengthens Cyber Defense, German Minister Says
A German and Israeli flag fly, on the day Chancellor Friedrich Merz meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog for talks, in Berlin, Germany, May 12, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
A new German-Israel agreement aims to counter cyber threats and enhance security infrastructure, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told parliament on Wednesday.
Dobrindt signed the agreement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem over the weekend.
The collaboration includes the development of a joint “cyber dome” system, an artificial intelligence and cyber innovation center, drone defense cooperation, and improved civilian warning systems.
“We have already had a trusting partnership in the past, which we want to strengthen further,” Dobrindt said. “Israel has extensive experience in cyber defense. We want to benefit from that.”
The German Interior Ministry said on Monday the agreement would extend to protecting energy infrastructure and connected vehicle networks, in addition to enhancing collaboration in civil protection, counter-terrorism, and criminal prosecution.
European countries are facing increasing pressure to fortify their cyber defense systems against sophisticated attacks.
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France Explores Sending Eutelsat Terminals to Iran Amid Internet Blackout
French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, Jan. 13, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
France is looking into sending Eutelsat satellite terminals to Iran to help citizens after Iranian authorities imposed a blackout of internet services in a bid to quell the country’s most violent domestic unrest in decades.
“We are exploring all options, and the one you have mentioned is among them,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday in the lower house after a lawmaker asked whether France would send Eutelsat gear to Iran.
Backed by the French and British governments, Eutelsat owns OneWeb, the only low Earth orbit constellation, or group of satellites, besides Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The satellites are used to beam internet service from space, providing broadband connectivity to businesses, governments, and consumers in underserved areas.
Iranian authorities in recent days have launched a deadly crackdown that has reportedly killed thousands during protests against clerical rule, and imposed a near-complete shutdown of internet service.
Still, some Iranians have managed to connect to Starlink satellite internet service, three people inside the country said.
Even Starlink service appears to be reduced, Alp Toker, founder of internet monitoring group NetBlocks said earlier this week.
Eutelsat declined to comment when asked by Reuters about Barrot’s remarks and its activities in Iran.
Starlink’s more than 9,000 satellites allow higher speeds than Eutelsat‘s fleet of over 600, and its terminals connecting users to the network are cheaper and easier to install.
Eutelsat also provides internet access to Ukraine’s military, which has relied on Starlink to maintain battlefield connectivity throughout the war with Russia.
Independent satellite communications adviser Carlos Placido said OneWeb terminals are bulkier than Starlink’s and easier to jam.
“The sheer scale of the Starlink constellation makes jamming more challenging, though certainly not impossible,” Placido said. “With OneWeb it is much easier to predict which satellite will become online over a given location at a given time.”