New York Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order Sunday evening recognizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and directing city agencies to use the definition to target hate crimes against Jewish people.
Adams announced the directive during an appearance at Tribeca Synagogue in Manhattan following an uptick in antisemitic attacks in New York City and across the country.
“Antisemitism is a vile disease that’s been spreading across our nation and our city,” Adams said in a statement. “What’s worse, since Hamas’ terror attacks on October 7, 2023, we have seen this hateful rhetoric become normalized on our campuses, in our communities, and online as antisemitic propaganda far too often masquerades as ‘activism.’ When Jewish New Yorkers make up 11 percent of the population but more than half of all hate crimes, we know this moment demands bold, decisive action to crack down on anti-Jewish hatred.”
“Today, we signed a landmark executive order to adopt an internationally recognized definition of antisemitism, but we must go further,” Adams continued. “I am calling on the City Council to join this commitment to target antisemitism everywhere it exists and immediately pass a bill to codify this definition into law. It’s time we all come together to eradicate this hatred from our city, once and for all.”
As he mounts an uphill bid for reelection as an independent, Adams’s executive order could help him reach Jewish residents, who hold critical voting power in the state’s largest city. The incumbent mayor has made it a point to appeal to the demographic as he campaigns, using the slogan “EndAntiSemitism” as one of his two ballot lines. Last month, Adams created the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which he touted as the first office of its kind established in a major city.
Roughly 1 million Jews call New York City home, accounting for more than 11% of the Big Apple’s population, the most of any city in the country.
Last year, the Anti-Defamation League said it recorded a record high of 9,354 antisemitic incidents in the United States. Acts of hate against Jews have risen by 344% over the past five years and increased by 893% over the past decade, according to the ADL.
More antisemitic incidents occurred in New York in 2024 than in any other state, according to the ADL. Last year, the New York City Police Department reported that 54% of all hate crimes in New York City were against Jewish New Yorkers. The NYPD’s most recent data indicate hate crimes against Jews accounted for over 60% of incidents during the first quarter of 2025.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned last week that the Jewish community faces an “elevated threat” after violent attacks in Boulder, Colorado, and at a Jewish museum in Washington.
The Trump administration has sought to crack down on antisemitism across the country, including with a controversial campaign accusing prominent Ivy League institutions of not doing enough to stop intense antisemitism on campuses. The White House is most prominently feuding with Harvard University, which argues the sweeping demands from the administration constitute illegal attacks on free speech.
Adams said Sunday that enshrining the IHRA’s definition as a guiding point for New York City’s government is necessary to help “eradicate this hatred from our city, once and for all.”
Critics say the broad definition is too vague, allowing for possible speech policing and fueling erosion of First Amendment protections.
On Monday, the New York Civil Liberties Union responded to the executive order with a statement condemning the directive as unconstitutional.
“Mayor Adams is weaponizing the critical fight against antisemitism to suppress protected political speech he doesn’t like,” the organization said. “Advocates have warned for years that the IHRA definition of antisemitism recklessly conflates criticism of Israel with hate and violates the Constitution’s free speech protections.”
Civil rights advocates have mounted similar arguments against the IHRA definition in Texas, where lawmakers approved a bill in April requiring that violations of student conduct codes in schools be reviewed for possible antisemitic motivation using the IHRA’s definition. Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) is expected to sign the legislation into law.
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The IHRA’s definition of antisemitism reads: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
Listed examples of behavior or language that violate the IHRA’s definition include “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” and holding Jews “collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.”