On his first day as mayor, Zohran Mamdani moved quickly to undo several of Eric Adams’ executive orders, touching off sharp criticism from Israeli officials and local Jewish leaders. This article examines what was revoked, why it matters to New York’s Jewish community, and how Mamdani’s past statements shape the perception of his actions. Expect direct reactions, concerns about public safety and free speech, and the political angle Republicans are raising about this abrupt policy reversal.
The new mayor wiped away a set of Adams-era directives that had limited city agencies from participating in boycotts or divestment actions targeting Israel and that had adopted the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. Critics on the right see that as abandoning a clear standard that helped protect Jews who support Israel and gave law enforcement a framework for addressing bias. City Hall said the orders issued after Adams’ indictment were revoked “ensur[e] a fresh start for the incoming administration,” and that some measures would be reissued in altered form.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry wasted no time in condemning the move and made its stance public. “On his very first day as New York City mayor, Mamdani shows his true face: He scraps the IHRA definition of antisemitism and lifts restrictions on boycotting Israel,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry wrote in a post on X. “This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
Locally, established Jewish leaders and council members reacted angrily to the revocations, arguing the IHRA language provided clarity against modern manifestations of antisemitism. Brooklyn City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov said the IHRA definition of antisemitism “protects from discrimination Jews who believe in self-determination and provides clarity on the definition.” Those leaders warn that removing such definitions leaves communities more vulnerable amid rising anti-Jewish violence and harassment.
One of the rescinded directives had also directed the NYPD to create protest buffer zones near houses of worship, an idea supporters said would help keep religious sites safe from aggressive demonstrations. Opponents of the IHRA order had argued it could chill free speech, but many safety-focused critics argued that the balance between civil liberties and protecting vulnerable communities must not be struck by gutting protections overnight. Republican voices in the city and on Capitol Hill are framing the revocations as a failure to prioritize security for Jewish New Yorkers.
Mamdani’s record on Israel deepens the controversy. He has called Israel an apartheid state, accused it of genocide in Gaza, and publicly suggested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested. His campaign answer to whether he would support Israel as a Jewish state was: “I’m not comfortable supporting any state that has a hierarchy of citizenship on the basis of religion or anything else. I think that in the way that we have in this country, equality should be enshrined in every country in the world.”
Those comments have left Jewish voters and elected officials uneasy, especially in a city with the largest Jewish population in the country. Some Republicans and pro-Israel advocates have used his rhetoric to warn that symbolic decisions can ripple into real-world emboldenment for extremist elements. “We need to enforce federal law that’s already in place here, because the pro-Hamas antisemites emboldened by [Mamdani] are coming!” she added.
At the same time, Mamdani insists he will not tolerate antisemitism and that he intends to fund hate-crime prevention and enforcement. He was sworn in using family Qurans, a detail his opponents seized on to paint a picture of an administration out of step with mainstream New York. Whether his promises to protect Jewish residents will match the actions critics expect remains the central political fight — and a test of how this city balances civil liberties, safety, and the competing demands of a polarized electorate.
Graduate Student, wife, engaged political and legal writer.