Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams took veiled swipes Sunday at his successor, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who has been publicly resistant to condemning the "globalize the intifada" movement and messaging.

"This attack did not come out of nowhere. It came out as the consequences of Islamic extremists," Adams said of the Australian terrorist attack on Jews at a Sunday news conference. "And we have to be clear on that.

"It's not an attack on our Muslim brothers and sisters, who carry out their faith every day, but [it] is the hijacking of their religion by Islamic extremists."

Adams was announcing ramped-up Hanukkah security measures and denouncing talk of whittling back aggressive policing and security measures, potentially a reference to Mamdani's policies.

"Words have meaning," Adams continued. "Words have impact, and words have power.

"Everyone needs to understand what words mean before they repeat them, before they shout them, before they defend them. That attack in Sydney is exactly what it means to globalize [the] intifada.

"We saw the actual application of the globalization of intifada in Sydney because the attacker knew who he was targeting and he knew why."

Adams mourned the victims of numerous acts of violence worldwide:

– Three American service members killed in a reported ISIS-related terrorist attack Saturday in Syria.

– Two gunned down and nine wounded in a mass shooting at Brown University.

– Six teens hospitalized after an overnight shooting in Brooklyn, New York.

– And at least 16 killed in a Jewish Hanukkah holiday event at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday.

"It is the first night of Hanukkah, the festival of lights where Jews are obligated to publicize the celebration of their faith," Adams said. "And among the murdered victims of the attack [was] a rabbi who had ties to Crown Heights, as well as a Holocaust survivor.

"Let me say that again: a rabbi and a Holocaust survivor killed for being Jewish.

"Antisemitism has no place in our city, in our society, and in our world. And I will continue to fight for this community and all communities of this city and for fellow brothers and sisters from the Jewish community.

"For the past four years, this administration has stood by the Jewish community, not just as the mayor, but as an ally, as a father, and as a human being."

Adams vowed to be defiant against antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric espoused by Mamdani in the past.

"As human beings, we cannot just turn down the temperature of hate — that is not enough. We must shut it off completely," he continued. "Here in New York City, we must call out hate without fear and without apology, because we will not be silent in the face of bigotry, of hatred to any group.

"We're going to be defiant. We're going to be resilient. All New Yorkers deserve to feel proud about their heritage. They deserve to feel safe in the displays of their pride."

Adams expressed wishes for New Yorkers celebrating the start of Hanukkah on Sunday night.

"Tonight, as Jewish New Yorkers celebrate Hanukkah, we honor another family of fighters, the Maccabees, who fought for the freedom of Jewish people, and they won," Adams added. "It was a victory of the weak over the strong, of spirit and belief over military might, but the Maccabees did not waver in the face of struggle.

"They did not lose hope. They did not lose faith. And so, they did not lose, and we will not lose.

"This evening, we will celebrate the first night of the miracle of Hanukkah. No matter the tragedies we have experienced as a city, as a country, and as a globe in the last 24 hours. May we never forget that even in moments of darkness, moments that seem like they might last forever, there will always be a light."

• Mamdani to 'Discourage,' Not Condemn, 'Globalize the Intifada'
• NYC Mayor Adams Heightens Hanukkah Security, Criticizes Successor