Exclusive Interview with Ofir Akunis; “Mind Your Own Business Mr. Mayor”

By Henry Levy

See our exclusive interview with Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, on August 28, 2026. Photo by Consulate Israel in New York.

Israel has always existed in a tough neighborhood with hateful forces not just focused on its destruction but reveling in the hatred of its existence and the existence of the Jewish people of Israel. One never expected New York City to reach the ignominious state of being the new ”tough neighborhood” to endure out of control Jew hatred, including violence the likes of which has made many Jewish Americans question what the hell is going on, how did this happen, and how can it be stopped. With such an undertone, I was privileged to meet the Consul General of Israel in New York in his office and in an exclusive interview to speak about this and other issues. Here is Consul General Ofir Akunis in his own words.

Consul General Ofir Akunis with Jewish Post’s publisher Henry Levy. Photo Credit: Consulate of Israel in New York

Henry Levy: What is the state of the Abraham Accords and the Isaac Accords for Latin America? Is there a concern these may be abandoned once Trump leaves office?

Ofir Akunis: I don’t think so because we have signed the treaties directly with the Emirates and Bahrain and Morocco. If you ask me if there is danger of the treaty between Israel and Egypt, it didn’t expire when President Carter was no longer in office or when Begin or Sadat passed away. No, it is between nations. I think it is stronger than anything. The opposite is the truth. If we succeed to demolish Hamas and Hezbollah from its presence in Lebanon, I think the door is open to a treaty with Lebanon as well. About Saudi Arabia, we have been waiting for the past 20 years, since they embarked on the Saudi Initiative in 2002. We are still waiting. Our door is open but they will dictate to us by the Palestinian State because the present policy of the State of Israel is “No” to the two-state solution. In Judea and Samaria by the way, the Palestinians can find another place than Judea and Samaria. There will not be a Palestinian State in Judea and Samaria.The first reason is this is our land, not theirs. So, about Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords, they are more than welcome. They just need to take a brave decision. That’s it. And it will be very fast. By the way, there is no territorial debate between Israel and Lebanon. There is no territorial debate between Israel and Saudi Arabia, so we don’t need to discuss border issues. Let’s go forward.

Henry Levy: Discuss AI and how that affects Israel’s standing in the world.

Akunis: I will tell you first of all we are leading of course, as we always did, on science, technology and let’s say breakthroughs in scientific initiatives. That is the nature of the Jewish people and the main part of our industry in the last 40 years. The Prime Minister announced there will be a totally new department in the Prime Minister’s Office to lead the AI industry in Israel in the next years. It’s very important because the whole world is going to AI. . There is a lot of danger by the way. It’s not only good things. You need to consider there are a lot of issues according to the AI. There is no legislation in the world about AI. Any 10 year-old kid can do whatever he wants with your voice, with your face, with you. We need to frame it. I think Israel will lead other countries about this innovation … about firewalls, about cyber security, about other things. AI will be a big part of our tech industry in the next decade.

Levy: On October 7th there was widespread sympathy for Israel. You have been very outspoken about the incitement to hate Jews & Israel from the Mayor and those close to him, as had some Jewish organizations. Has speaking out helped?

Akunis: I want to remind you, this is our third interview, and you also report on my press releases and conferences. On January 1, 2026, one hour after this guy stepped into his office, he arranged two executive orders. One, according to the IHRA definition (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance that defines antisemitism as a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews) and the second about the boycott, initiatives, and then I published this press release (showing it to me). The main sentence was he revoked the IHRA definition and that posed an immediate threat to the safety of Jewish communities in New York and could lead to an increase of violent antisemitic attacks throughout the city. These things are happening right now. Now this guy, that he is a Jew hater, he is an antisemite, from his parents of course and from his wife as well. So, it is a main part of his character. Because of him you can see the increased numbers of the attacks against Jews here in New York City. What is the reason? In every different press conference about buses, about grocery stores, about traffic, about the trash in mid-town, he needs to explain his world policy. According to domestic issues he attacks Israel.

A 46 year-old New Yorker stepped into a synagogue, Central Synagogue, less than two weeks ago and attacked a few congregants and shouted obscenities. Why? It is because of him. And all the other attacks and the swastikas above New York University and in Queens and other incidents where a few people were attacked. Why didn’t we see these things two years ago, three years ago? We saw the mobs in the past, but now it is the mobs and the other attackers like the examples I gave you. It is not out of nowhere. It is because of him.

And, by the way, mind your own business Mr. Mayor. Mind your own business. Israel is not your business. Foreign policy is not your job. Your job is to take the trash, and there are mountains of trash in mid-town. The traffic is a disaster from the city to the suburbs. The cost of living? What happened to the cost of living in the last 8 months under his leadership as mayor? Nothing. It is still high prices. So, mind your own business

I want to say something else. Don’t think that the old antisemitic groups blame the Jews. Everything is blame the Jews. The prices are high, blame the Jews. The traffic is a disaster, blame the Jews. The trash around Times Square, blame the Jews. NO! NO! NO!

Levy: How does the Mayor’s claims of support from Rabbis, such as Satmar Sect and Jewish groups, like J Street stand up to reality?

Akunis: I think it’s a shame that Jewish organizations that prefer this Mayor rather than their own communities. As you saw, the last attack was against Central Synagogue, not some different religious one. In their eyes, in our enemy’s eyes there is no difference between reform, secular, ultra-orthodox, modern orthodox, between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. There is no difference! I have already heard a few people who voted for him actually regret it. That’s good if they don’t do it again in 3 ½ years.

Levy: How are you choosing to address the large number of mostly young Jewish voters and influencers that supported Mamdani and who attack Israel?

Akunis: We are doing whatever we can to change their mind. I think that reality changed their mind. Most of the people who supported him, endorsed him, I don’t know but I can feel the change and you can see the changes, especially the last 2 months. One of these main reasons was that everybody knows it was a clear lie to declare that he would arrest an Israeli Prime Minister. You can support the Israeli Prime Minister. You can be one of his non-supporters but you should know the law. The law in the United States is you can’t do it. It was so childish to do it for a few likes on his Instagram, on his Facebook page. You are the mayor. It’s not like you are an influencer any more. Behave! Start to behave. That’s what I want. I think a lot of people who consider themselves serious people said to themselves, ”Something is wrong here.” This is not serious and they changed their mind. Not all of them of course but a lot. Of course there are Jewish-haters among us. I’m talking about influencers, most of them paid by Qatar and others, but mostly Qatar. We are doing our best. We have our own influencers. By the way, we are arranging the second delegation of influencers to Israel. It is very good. The most effective thing is to bring them to Israel. Influencers, journalists, a lot of people from hi-tech industry. We have special flights. I escorted a few delegations the last two years since I started the initiative to bring Consul Generals, my colleagues, from around the world. You can see the changes. You can see in their eyes the change as they visit the Kibbutzim in Gaza, the Gaza envelope, the Nova Festival site, meeting with survivors of October 7th, and then while they are eating Israeli food, while they are visiting the hi-tech industry in Tel Aviv and Herzliya and of course Jerusalem. A main part of my agenda, my schedule, is to meet as much as I can with senators and representatives in congress from my region: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Long Island.

Consul General of Israel in New York, Ofir Akunis was the Honorary Grand Marshall of the Israel Day Parade in New York on May 31, 2026 (third from right). He marched along with an official Israeli Government delegation and former mayor Eric Adams as tens of thousands marched and cheered for the State of Israel.

Levy: You mentioned Central Synagogue before. One of the most unifying things about the service held after the attack was when Rabbi Joe Potasnik and all the other interfaith leaders stood up together in solidarity. Their words and that visual was very important. What do you think about Israel holding every year, for all the major religions in Jerusalem, a similar gathering?

Akunis: I think it is a very good idea. As you know, Jerusalem is the holy city for Christians, for Muslims, and for the Jewish people. A lot of other people see Jerusalem as the most important place on earth. I’m for it. There is freedom of religion for Christians, Muslims, Druze, Jews, Bedouins, whatever. We are the most democratic country in the region and the only country where the gay community can march freely. It used to be only in Tel Aviv but now it is Haifa, Jerusalem, Beersheva, in almost every city there is a gay parade in June. These are things you will never see around us. So, your idea is a very good idea. Everybody wants to visit Israel to collaborate with Israel, to cooperate with Israel, with the Israeli society, the Israeli economy and with Israeli universities. They are more than welcome. We will not stop anyone from being our friend, BUT, and here is the big BUT, if someone wants to destroy us, we will destroy him first. And I am talking about the Ayatollahs, Hezbollah, a front for Iran, Hamas, Houthis and Iranian units in Yemen. My suggestion, and I want it, is for all the Israeli leaders, governors, members of the Knesset, members of government, for all the Israelis themselves, the Israeli people who want people to be our friends and they will find our open hearts and open doors.

Levy: There are a number of Jewish people in the states deeply concerned about reports about strong unprovoked attacks by settlers against Palestinian in neighboring areas and this turns them against Israel. Is this a PR nightmare or is there more to the story?

Akunis: Israel is a law-abiding state, and anyone who breaks our laws will be prosecuted. But for the last one hundred years, our enemies, especially Arab leaders in Judea and Samaria have continued to support illegal activities and attacks against innocent Israeli civilians.

Levy: What is the path forward in Gaza and Lebanon?

Akunis: We want the Gazans to have rebuilt the Gaza Strip for the benefit of the people there, but there is one condition. Hamas cannot be there. That’s it! Finished! They invaded Israel on October 7th. They actually took a decision that their main goal is that we would not be there anymore. By the way, they are not only a threat against Israel, they are a threat against Gazans themselves. Why do you think they want to keep their regime with their Sharia Law, with their corruption? The food they actually took for humanitarian aid was worth a lot of money. The Gazans are still selling from trucks filled with humanitarian aid. So, what I want is an official policy for the Gazans to rule themselves. No Hamas. They can then with the international community, with the World Bank, maybe they can build skyscrapers there. They can build whatever they want. If Hamas will not be there it will not be a problem. But they are still there. They refuse to lay down their weapons. They say they will negotiate to keep their Kalashnikovs and they will give up their missiles. NO! Nothing! Zero! Like I said before, we know what they can do with Kalashnikovs and RPGs.

The same about Lebanon. The current situation is that Hezbollah is ruining this beautiful country. Lebanon was the Paris of the Middle East. First of all, this murderer, Yassar Arafat ruined this place when he invaded Lebanon from Germany in 1970-1971, then the Syrians launched the Civil War in Lebanon in 1975 and now the Iranians with Hezbollah. I want that the Europeans, who love Lebanon very much, and the Americans and the Japanese and all the other serious countries around the world will put Hezbollah under pressure to not only lay down their weapons, and kilometers of missiles meant for attacks on Israel. We need to demolish them, to destroy them. To destroy Hezbollah. Then the international community, as I mentioned, can get involved. I would be very happy if we could reopen the Good Fence with Lebanon. Every morning at 6am our soldiers would open the Good Fence to thousands of Lebanese who worked in Israel for years. Lebanese citizens who want to work for the benefit of their families can come. It can be a huge potential for our region. We can reopen the route from Beirut to Haifa to Gaza and to Cairo. We can do it now if Hezbollah was not in Lebanon and Hamas was out of Gaza.

Let’s close on an optimistic message

We are a few days before Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is a symbol of a new beginning. Let’s hope that these days will also be a new beginning, first of all to the Jewish communities around the world. Much less antisemitism and much more love as far as we can. And, of course, optimism about our region, about the Middle East. Let’s hope that the Ayatollah regime will collapse as soon as possible. Maybe, during the year. So, in general, I am worried about the political situation here because there are a lot of extremists that were elected to be representatives in congress, the senate, etc.

From the other hand because Israel actually gives a lot of good things to our region, the main things of course are our activities to clean the region from terror organizations. But we need the cooperation of our neighbors and the international community to bring this place to the situation that it was back in the old times with prosperity and the benefits to other nations. I can hope. I can pray.