Zohran Mamdani faces allegations of antisemitism on first day as mayor

On his first full day after taking the helm as mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani faced an issue that dogged him throughout his campaign: accusations of antisemitism.

In a post on X early Friday morning, the Israeli foreign minister accused the 34-year-old democratic socialist of pouring “antisemitic gasoline on an open fire” after he revoked all executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams since September 2024 — the same month Adams was indicted on fraud and bribery charges.

That included one order that Adams signed in June adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which includes “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel,” and another that Adams signed last month barring city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel.

Mamdani addressed the uproar during a news conference Friday afternoon, pledging that his administration would fight “the scourge of antisemitism by actually funding hate crime prevention, by celebrating our neighbors and by practicing a politics of universality.”

In a statement issued on New Year’s Day, City Hall said the move to revoke the executive orders dating back to September 2024 offers “a fresh start for the incoming administration.”

On Friday, the new mayor defended revoking his predecessor’s executive order regarding the definition of antisemitism, saying that several Jewish organizations “have immense concerns around this definition.”

The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey criticized Mamdani’s decision, saying in a statement, “We are deeply troubled that on his first day in office Mayor Mamdani weakened protections to fight antisemitism by revoking executive orders adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism and providing safeguards against Israel-related discrimination in city procurement and pension decision-making.”

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, told The New York Times that those orders from Adams “appeared to be last-ditch attempts to suppress viewpoints that the mayor and his benefactors disagreed with, especially since one of them was issued just in the last few weeks.”

“It is no surprise and it is good news that our new mayor has revoked them,” Lieberman added.

Mamdani said on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” in November that he supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, known as BDS, a Palestinian-led initiative that calls for — among other things — withdrawing support and investments from Israeli institutions and companies that have “engaged in violations of Palestinian human rights.”

The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations also applauded Mamdani for revoking Adams’ executive orders, including one, it said, that restricted “the ability of New Yorkers to criticize the Israeli government’s racism or boycott Israel’s human rights abuses against the Palestinian people.” 

The director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, a nonprofit founded in 2020, criticized Mamdani for deleting a pair of posts on X — posted on Adams’ official New York City mayoral account — that linked to a report from the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism touting its accomplishments.

Adams established that office in May, and Mamdani said Thursday the office would remain open. “That is an issue that we take very seriously,” Mamdani said.

The ADL of New York and New Jersey called Mamdani’s continuation of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism “welcome and important.” However, the group cautioned that “revoking these executive orders removes key tools for addressing antisemitism, including BDS-driven efforts that seek to demonize, delegitimize, and isolate the world’s only Jewish state.”

A third X post that links to the actual report remains up — but Mark Goldfeder, director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, noted that the posts are official city records and, therefore, must be archived by law.

“At a moment of unprecedented antisemitic intimidation, violence, and exclusion in the City the decision to erase official statements affirming the safety and protection of Jews is not merely tone-deaf, it is shameful,” Goldfeder wrote in a letter to Mamdani and two other city officials, which he posted on X. “It sends a message, whether intended or not, that Jewish New Yorkers are uniquely undeserving of continuity, clarity, or reassurance from their own government.”

Responding to Goldfeder’s letter, Adams wrote on X: “@NYCMayor promised a New Era and unity today. This isn’t new. And it isn’t unity.”

Also in response to Goldfeder’s letter, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice, wrote on X: “We will be extremely vigilant [at the Civil Rights office] as to ANY AND ALL violations of religious liberties in NYC. We will investigate, sue, and indict as needed.”

The consul general of Israel in New York, Ambassador Ofir Akunis, charged that Mamdani’s actions revoking the IHRA definition of antisemitism “pose an immediate threat to the safety of Jewish communities in New York City and could lead to an increase in violent antisemitic attacks throughout the city.”

Mamdani has faced allegations of antisemitism throughout what began as a long-shot campaign for mayor. Critics pointed to his criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza and his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which some have said amounts to a call for violence against Jews.

“I don’t believe that the role of the mayor is to police speech,” Mamdani told NBC News’ Kristen Welker last year, adding that he does not use the phrase himself.

He subsequently said he would “discourage” use of the phrase.

In his inauguration speech on Thursday, Mamdani pledged to “answer to all New Yorkers.”

“Regardless of whether we agree, I will protect you, celebrate with you, mourn alongside you, and never, not for a second, hide from you,” he said.