New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday a joint economic cooperation between NYC and Israel, headed on Israel's part by Economy Minister and former Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat.
Adams announced the historic cooperation at The Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York City.
The economic cooperation - the New York City Israel Economic Council is an initiative that seeks to strengthen the economic ties between the city and Israel, and includes cooperation in a number of industries and fields, including climate tech, artificial intelligence, life sciences, and more.
The new initiative will act as a gateway for Israeli businesses to US markets, Adams said. He stressed Israel's strengths in innovation and entrepreneurship, predicting that the initiative will benefit Israelis and New Yorkers alike.
"You no longer need to go all the way to the West Coast," Adams told Israeli businesspeople, adding that the flight to New York is safer and more comfortable.
Adams commended Israel for its economic resilience saying that "the charts and graphs do not do any justice to how resilient" Israel has "always been," and added that this resilience is duplicated in NYC.
He commented on Israel and New York's bond, which is reinforced by "shared goals, shared values, and shared commitments to uphold them."
The council "adds to the long history of collaboration between NYC and Israel and highlights the tradition of NYC mayors supporting the Jewish state."
"New York City is the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv of America - this is where it all comes alive," he said.
As long as I am mayor, we will invest in Israel
Adams also touched on recent calls for the city of New York to divest from Israel, saying that "as long as I am mayor of this city, we will be invested in Israel."
He also reminded the conference attendees that he announced last week the foundation of an office dedicated to fighting antisemitism. This makes NYC the first major city in the US with such an office.
The Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism will set about immediately establishing an interagency task force dedicated to fighting Jew-hatred. Some of the main activities will be advising on executive orders and legislation around antisemitism and liaising with the New York City Law Department.
Adams called the relationship between Israel and NYC "stronger every day."
"Let's sign this important agreement."