New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (Democrat) has revoked a series of executive orders issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams (Democrat), including measures intended to support Israel.
اضافة اعلان
In one of his first actions after taking office, Mamdani issued a directive canceling all executive orders signed since September 26, 2024—the day Adams was indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges.
Mamdani said that date “marked a moment when many New Yorkers felt that politics no longer represented them.”
The decision included repealing an order that barred city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel, as well as rescinding the city’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which considers opposition to the existence of the State of Israel a form of antisemitism.
Adams had signed those orders during the final weeks of his term as part of efforts to counter the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Despite the broad rollback, Mamdani retained the office established by Adams last May to combat antisemitism, signaling that the move does not mean abandoning efforts to confront antisemitic rhetoric, but rather redefining its legal and political boundaries.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist and New York City’s first Muslim mayor, is known for his outspoken support for Palestinian rights. He has previously endorsed the BDS movement and pledged during his campaign to review all executive orders issued by Adams. His stance has drawn criticism from Israeli officials and conservative figures in the United States.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the decision, saying that rescinding the IHRA definition and lifting restrictions on boycotting Israel amounted to “antisemitic fuel thrown onto a burning fire.” Pro-Israel Jewish organizations also denounced the move, while civil and human rights groups welcomed it.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said Adams’ orders relied on a “broad and flawed definition of antisemitism” and were used to suppress political speech protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
The Anti-Defamation League, for its part, reiterated its criticism of Mamdani, pointing to previous controversy over alleged antisemitic posts by some appointees in his administration, which led to the resignation of one newly appointed official just one day after her appointment was announced.
In response to earlier criticism, Mamdani stressed “the need to distinguish between antisemitism and criticism of the Israeli government,” arguing that conflating the two “distracts from the real danger of antisemitism” in New York and across the United States.
The controversy comes in a city that is home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel, and amid Mamdani’s past electoral positions in which he criticized the war on Gaza, accused Israel of committing war crimes, and said he would respect the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
US President Donald Trump had previously hinted at the possibility of imposing restrictions on federal funding for New York if Mamdani proceeds with his policies, saying: “He has to comply, or there will be big problems.”
(Agencies)
