At a Jewish heritage celebration Tuesday evening at Gracie Mansion, Mayor Eric Adams implored Jewish New Yorkers not to flee the city following Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s surprise Democratic primary victory, but to stay and defend their home against a growing tide of antisemitism.

Addressing an audience of approximately 1,000 under the sweltering July heat, Adams drew on historical examples of Jewish exile to underscore the dangers of abandoning the city.

“You have the right to be in this city and anywhere in this country,” Adams declared. “We will not be the generation of fleeing and of leaving. We will be the generation to push back against hate.”

Using the metaphor of a frog slowly boiled by rising water temperatures—a science exercise he recalled from elementary school—Adams warned that antisemitism in New York has been ‘‘turned up one degree at a time.’’

“The heat of antisemitism has gotten too hot in our city, which has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel,” he said. “I’m here to turn off the flame and get the frog out of the pot.”

Jewish Heritage Month events had been postponed by rain in May and rescheduled for Tuesday evening in Carl Schurz Park. Despite a citywide heat advisory, attendees gathered under lit tents and listened to Israeli pop music, performances by singer Yoni Zigelboum (Yoni Z), and speeches honoring community leaders.

Recipients of community service awards included volunteers from Chesed 24/7 and journalist Douglas Murray, who praised Adams’s vocal stance against intolerance.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)