Israel’s foreign ministry has accused New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani of pouring “antisemitic gasoline on an open fire” after he reversed a recent order by the outgoing Mayor, Eric Adams.
Israel’s response in a post on X came hours after Mamdani issued an order to rescind all executive orders that Adams issued after he was indicted on federal corruption charges in 2024 – charges that were later, controversially, dropped.
Mamdani revoked an Adams-era order that adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which the previous administration said included “demonizing Israel and holding it to double standards as forms of contemporary antisemitism.”
“On his very first day as @NYCMayor, Mamdani shows his true face: he scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel. This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
Israel’s foreign ministry
Mamdani’s office said that the order was issued to ensure “a fresh start for the incoming administration and reissue executive orders that the administration feels are central to delivering continued service, excellence, and value-driven leadership.”
The overturned orders include a directive last month that prohibited mayoral appointees and staff “from boycotting and disinvesting from Israel and protecting New Yorkers’ rights to free exercise of religion without harassment at houses of worship.”
One of Adams’s orders, now revoked, included prohibiting city officials overseeing the city pension system from making decisions in line with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which Mamdani has said he supports.
A second order directed the New York Police Commissioner, currently Jessica Tisch, to evaluate proposals for regulating protest activity occurring close to houses of worship. It came after demonstrations outside an Upper East Side synagogue hosting an event promoting immigration to Israel sparked claims of antisemitism.
Adams said last month that New York City has always been this nation’s melting pot, “but too often, over the last few years, we’ve seen those of Jewish ancestry be singled out and targeted,” adding that the measures were aimed to “protect New Yorkers’ tax dollars and protect their right to practice their religion without harassment.”
After issuing his first set of executive orders, Mamdani said that he would keep open the recently created Office to Combat Antisemitism. “That is an issue that we take very seriously,” he told reporters.
He made no similar assurances for supporting an Adams-era measure to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which broadly codifies anti-Zionism as antisemitic.
William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish organizations, called that move “a troubling indicator of the direction in which he is leading the city, just one day at the helm.”
Daroff told the liberal-leaning Forward that the move “diminishes New York City’s ability to recognize and respond to antisemitism at a time when incidents continue to rise.”
Mamdani Vows To Reinvent New York City
Meanwhile, Zohran Mamdani vowed to “reinvent” New York City in a speech on his first day as Mayor, promising “a new era” for America’s largest city and an ambitious start to his term of office.
He said that in writing his remarks, he was advised to lower expectations. “I will do no such thing,” Mamdani said.
“The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations. Beginning today we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed, but never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani did not shy away from his socialist politics. “I was elected as a democratic socialist and I will govern as a democratic socialist,” he said.
He stated that he will not abandon his principles for fear of being called radical. “The work has only just begun,” he added.
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