ATHENS – With New York facing a rise in hate toward Jewish sites and people, Mayor Eric Adams came to the capital of Greece for an anti-semitism conference in a country facing criticism for it.

Adams, who leans toward favoring Turkey, is dealing with frequently incidents in New York and an attempted synagogue shooting, noted the Times of Israel in a report on the event.

The 2022 Mayor Summit Against Antisemitism will convene leaders from 53 cities in 23 countries, according to the Combat Antisemitism Movement, an international advocacy group that is hosting the summit with the city of Athens and its mayor, Kostas Bakoyannis.

“We see an insidious spread of antisemitism, so there is a need to fight this scourge at the local level as well as to see how these trends are global, and learn best practices from each other towards combating them,” Bakoyannis said.

The conference will gather the mayors “to share their challenges and solutions to counter hatred, bigotry, and antisemitism within their cities,” the Combat Antisemitism Movement said, the report also added.

Greece has endured criticism for a number of anti-semitic incidents at monuments and other Jewish sites as well as Health Minister Thanos Plevris and Interior Minister Makis Voridis apologizing for past anti-Semitic comments.

“As the Mayor of the largest Jewish community in the United States, it is my sacred duty to protect Jewish New Yorkers and this entire community from antisemitism and bigotry,” Adams said after a synagogue attack was stopped.