New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, triggered an immediate international and domestic backlash on his first day in office after voiding a series of executive orders issued by his predecessor, former Mayor Eric Adams — including measures related to Israel and antisemitism.
Among the rescinded directives per FOX News were orders that barred city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel and formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.
The moves prompted a sharp rebuke from Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
“On his very first day as New York City mayor, Mamdani shows his true face: He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel,” the ministry wrote on X.
“This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, triggered an immediate international and domestic backlash on his first day in office after voiding a series of executive orders issued by his predecessor, former Mayor Eric Adams — including measures related to Israel and antisemitism.
Among the rescinded directives per FOX News were orders that barred city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel and formally adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism.
The moves prompted a sharp rebuke from Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
“On his very first day as New York City mayor, Mamdani shows his true face: He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel,” the ministry wrote on X.
“This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
City Hall officials said Mamdani revoked all executive orders signed by Adams after Sept. 26, 2024 — the date Adams was indicted on federal corruption charges — as part of what the administration described as an effort to “ensur[e] a fresh start for the incoming administration.”
Officials insisted that executive orders Mamdani continues to support would be reissued.
The sweep included an order adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which classifies certain actions — including “demonizing Israel and holding it to double standards” or denying the Jewish people’s right to a national homeland — as contemporary antisemitism.
Another rescinded directive had instructed the New York Police Department to increase enforcement around religious institutions by creating protest-free buffer zones near churches, synagogues and mosques.
Critics of the Adams administration had previously argued that the IHRA order infringed on First Amendment protections of free speech.
The revocations drew swift condemnation from conservative Jewish leaders in the city.
Brooklyn City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov said the IHRA definition of antisemitism “protects from discrimination Jews who believe in self-determination and provides clarity on the definition.”
“We need to enforce federal law that’s already in place here, because the pro-Hamas antisemites emboldened by [Mamdani] are coming!” she added.
Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, was sworn in on a pair of family Qurans. Since his election, he has faced attacks from political opponents, including New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who has labeled him a “jihadist communist” and a “terrorist” sympathizer.
Throughout his political rise, Mamdani has taken positions on Israel that diverge sharply from the long-standing posture of New York’s elected leadership in a city that has the largest Jewish population in the United States.
He has repeatedly described Israel as an apartheid state, accused it of committing genocide in Gaza, and said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested.
During the mayoral campaign, Mamdani was pressed repeatedly on whether he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. He responded:
“I’m not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else. I think that in the way that we have in this country, equality should be enshrined in every country in the world.”
At the same time, Mamdani has said he will not tolerate antisemitism in New York City and has pledged to increase funding to combat hate crimes.
THE THIRD FORCE
