On his first day as mayor, New York City’s Zohran Mamdani decided to set the stage for his time in office by slashing key executive orders designed to protect Jewish residents of the city. His choice to cut all executive orders passed by Eric Adams since Sept. 26, 2024, has little to do with his claimed purpose of creating a “clean slate” following the indictment of the former mayor.
Instead, it is a thinly veiled attempt at weakening the definition of antisemitism in a way that allows for Mamdani, an opponent of Israel, to attack the Jewish state and leave Jews across the city vulnerable to discrimination. This city is my home, and my community has been intentionally left vulnerable by our mayor’s abandonment of the legal safeguards that were designed to ensure our safety.
Mamdani is a career-long opponent of Israel and has repeatedly used his platform to deny the historic Jewish connection to the Jewish state. His foray into politics began with his co-founding the Bowdoin College chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, an extremist group known for its outspoken praise of Hamas.
He credits his anti-Israel positions to his introduction and involvement with the Democratic Socialists of America, a consistent promulgator of the discriminatory forces of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, which is anti-Jewish and anti-peace. BDS aims to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist and marginalize Jews all over the world through economic sanctions, cultural isolation, and exclusion.
Mamdani’s core identity is his opposition to Israel, and he made that opposition his top priority as he took office, just the outcome Jewish activists warned about in the lead-up to his election.
One of the key protections Mamdani rolled back is Executive Order 60, which prevented government officials from taking divestment actions discriminatory to Israel, Israeli citizens, or entities associated with Israel based on their identity. With over $300 million invested in Israel bonds, New York’s investment in the Jewish state benefits both the city’s economic health and the businesses within it.
Mamdani’s predecessor, Mayor Eric Adams, made it clear when he signed the order that BDS “is antisemitic in nature and discriminatory in practice.” Repealing his order uniquely attacks Jewish New Yorkers, most of whom have family, emotional, or spiritual connections to the Jewish state, in the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
Another ordinance repealed by Mamdani was Executive Order 52, enacting the city’s formal adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, observed by 43 countries, including the United States, since 1998. The definition recognizes that some Israel-related attacks become antisemitic when they target Jews as a group or deny Jewish self-determination. Mamdani himself, with his consistent refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, may have seen a weaker definition as enabling his own politics. More concerningly, the repeal of the definition allows for antisemitic attacks to be re-characterized and go unpunished.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, there has been an explosion of anti-Jewish hatred around the world, and in New York City in particular. In the first three months following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Anti-Defamation League figures show that antisemitic incidents rose by 361% compared with the same period a year earlier. In New York City alone, the New York Police Department reported that anti-Jewish crimes accounted for a majority (54%) of the 641 total hate crimes against all minorities reported to police in 2024, even though Jews make up only about 14% of the city’s population.
A majority of antisemitic attacks last year, 58%, were related to Israel. Claiming that there is no connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism is not only disingenuous but also downright dangerous.
A perfect example of the connection is the recent antisemitic protest outside the Park Avenue Synagogue on Nov. 19. Masked protesters assailed the congregants with chants of “death to the IDF” and “globalize the intifada,” while also harassing worshippers with death threats. When interviewed at the scene, protesters stated their explicit goal to “make them scared,” referring to the individuals at the event.
Instead of categorically decrying the attack, Mamdani instead foisted blame on the synagogue for “violation of international law,” with reference to its collaboration with the Israeli nonprofit Nefesh B’nefesh, which helps connect Jews with resources if they’re interested in moving to Israel. To add insult to injury, Mamdani also repealed an executive order that mandated stronger police protection of synagogues and prohibited demonstrations within 15-60 feet of places of worship.
For those of us who care deeply about this city and its Jewish heritage, we know this is just the beginning. Around 20% of Mamdani’s transition team have been linked to antisemitic, anti-Zionist, or anti-Israel activities, according to the ADL. In fact, Mamdani just appointed Ramzi Kassem, infamous for defending an al Qaeda terrorist and training and representing anti-Israel agitators around the country, as his chief lawyer.
MAMDANI CALLED ON TO DENOUNCE ‘WE SUPPORT HAMAS’ CHANTS OUTSIDE NYC SYNAGOGUE
While he claims that “a number … of leading Jewish organizations,” such as the extremist anti-Israel Jewish Voice for Peace, are aligned with his policies, the major mainstream Jewish organizations, including the largest Jewish community organizations in NYC, warned that Mamdani’s actions “reversed two significant protections against antisemitism” and that “singling out Israel for sanctions is not the way to make Jewish New Yorkers feel included and safe.”
We must not stand idly by while the weakening of our defenses allows bigots to trample our freedoms and intimidate us in the city we call home. Mamdani’s weakening of protective rules only tends to encourage the already rampant hate crimes against Jewish New Yorkers. Now, people of goodwill everywhere, of every background and politics, must join together to demand that Mayor Mamdani restore strong protections for the city’s beleaguered Jewish community. We cannot afford to wait. Our rights as citizens and the physical security of our children are on the line.
Lizzy Savetsky is a Jewish activist based in New York.