New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has used his first day in office to repeal the city’s adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism and to lift restrictions on municipal participation in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign targeting Israel. These abrupt reversals remove vital protections that Jewish New Yorkers secured and send a chilling message at a time of sharply rising antisemitic incidents.
Immediate Repeal of IHRA Definition
Mayor Eric Adams signed Executive Order 52, directing all New York City agencies to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism as a framework to identify and address antisemitism across the five boroughs.
Within hours of taking office, Mayor Mamdani revoked that order, explicitly scrapping the city’s recognition of the IHRA definition, including its examples that identify certain forms of anti-Zionism such as denying the Jewish people the right to self-determination or branding Israel’s very existence as a “racist endeavor”.
Enabling BDS Within City Agencies
Mayor Adams also issued Executive Order 60, barring New York City agencies and appointees from participating in boycotts or divestment campaigns that single out Israel, and prohibiting divestment decisions intended to discriminate against Israel.
On his first day, Mayor Mamdani canceled that anti-BDS order and “lifted restrictions on boycotting Israel,” thereby clearing the way for city agencies and officials to engage in BDS- aligned actions that target the world’s only Jewish state.
Criticism of Israeli policies-like criticism of any other government-is not, in itself, antisemitic, and the IHRA definition explicitly protects legitimate political debate. However, singling out only Israel for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions by holding Israel to standards not applied to any other nation; and using opposition to Israel’s existence as a test of whether Jews and others are welcome in civic life are classic examples of antisemitism under IHRA’s widely accepted criteria.
Why Jewish New Yorkers Are Alarmed
Mayor Mamdani is a long-time supporter of the BDS movement and an opponent of the IHRA definition, and he has publicly refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.
These first-day moves confirm the concerns of many Jewish New Yorkers, and they come amidst an already documented surge in antisemitic incidents, threats, and harassment in New York City since October 7, 2023.
State Inaction & Increased Vulnerability
While Governor Kathy Hochul has praised the IHRA Working Definition she has refused to adopt IHRA, and so it is not fully adopted as state law. Furthermore, she has not made any serious efforts to codify the definition into binding state law by pushing its legislation through state government. A bill currently exists to do it sponsored by by state assembly man Sam Burger.
With New York City’s IHRA-based protections now stripped away and no statewide standard yet enacted, Jewish communities are left more exposed at the very moment when targeted hostility, including anti-Zionist campaigns that cross into antisemitic intimidation, is accelerating.
For these reasons, the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center views the repeal of the IHRA definition and the restoration of BDS activity inside city government as profoundly dangerous steps that normalize discrimination against Jews and undermine the safety and dignity of all Jewish New Yorkers.
About The Holocaust Memorial Tolerance Center
The Holocaust Memorial Tolerance Center (HMTC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization dedicated to teach the history of the Holocaust and its lessons through education and community outreach. We teach about the dangers of antisemitism, racism, bullying, and all manifestations of intolerance. We promote resistance to prejudice and advocate respect for every human being.
At HMTC, we believe that every individual deserves to live without fear of hate or discrimination. That is why we are committed to fighting hate in all its forms, whether it is directed towards the Jewish community or any other marginalized group. We stand with those who have been targeted and we vow to use our platform to promote understanding, tolerance, and acceptance. Join us in this fight against hate and help us create a more inclusive and compassionate world for all.
To learn more, please visit here.
Featured image credit: DepositPhotos.com
