ATHENS – The New York Post reports that New York’s Mayor Eric Adams “is heading to Athens, Greece for a conference on anti-Semitism and Doha, Qatar, to ‘learn more’ about co-hosting the World Cup.  The article by Bernadette Hogan notes that according to a copy of Adams’ public schedule that was released November 25 Adams will go to Athens on Nov. 30 to attend the 2022 Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism.

“The trip comes soon after the NYPD and federal law enforcement prevented an attempted attack on city synagogues by would-be terrorists Matthew Mahrer and Christopher Brown. Adams will then head to Doha, Qatar on Dec. 1 and stay until Dec. 4 – to ‘learn more’ about the 2022 FIFA World Cup games.”

New York and New Jersey will jointly host the 2026 World Cup at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ where the Jets and Giants play.

The selection of Qatar as the host of the World Cup matches that is currently taking place has been criticized in light of “allegations of human rights violations, alleged corruption tied to the country’s bid to host the competition and the country’s homophobic laws,” the article says.

The mayor is scheduled to meet with government officials, security and economic development leaders. “When asked by The Post for more details tied to the meetings, or whether the trip is taxpayer, campaign or personally funded, City Hall said the final details are still being worked out,” Hogan writes.

The article began by referring to Adams as “The Big Apple’s jet-setting chief executive,  and added that, “Adams has taken a number of out-of-state and international trips since taking office – most recently he attended the SOMOS political conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico following the November general election. He came under fire in May after taking a three-day-long trip to Los Angeles, after which he defended the decision, arguing he was working to attract business back to the Big Apple.”

That is also the way Adams has explained trips to Turkey when he was the Borough President of Brooklyn, which has a substantial Turkish immigrant population.

Hogan noted that “flights from New York to Athens, then to Doha and a return trip would total just over $2,000, according to prices listed online.”

(Material from The New York Post was used in this article)