New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, took office Jan. 1, pledging his administration would fight “hate across this city, and that includes the scourge of antisemitism.” But he made a lie out of this pledge on his very first day in office, signing executive orders to dismantle anything the previous administration had done that was aimed at protecting Jews and defending Israel.
During his campaign, Mamdani refused to condemn calls to “globalize the intifada.”
Mamdani overturned all of ex-mayor Eric Adams orders issued after Adams was indicted on corruption charges in September 2024. The new mayor claimed this was necessary to give him a “clean slate,” despite the fact a federal judge had thrown out all charges against Adams. Mamdani’s action was a cover-up of his real aim — undoing Adams’ measures against Jew-hatred.
Mamdani is a prominent backer of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. He has joined its efforts pressing to get Israel barred from all trade, economic and cultural contact with the rest of the world, a way of aiding Hamas’ declared goal of destroying Israel.
One of the orders Mamdani threw out barred city officials from discriminating “against the state of Israel, Israeli citizens based on their national origin, or individuals or entities based on their association with Israel,” in the awarding of city contracts or in any other policy.
“Singling out Israel for sanctions is not the way to make Jewish New Yorkers feel included and safe,” a coalition of Jewish groups wrote in response to Mamdani’s move.
Mamdani also revoked an Adams order that accepted a definition of antisemitism approved by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. That designation says antisemitism includes “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of Israel is a racist endeavor.”
Another order overturned by Mamdani was one adopted after a mob threatened violence against Jews at the Park East Synagogue in Manhattan Nov. 19. “We need to make them scared,” one of the Jew-haters repeatedly told participants.
Following the action, Adams had ordered cops to review “guidance for protection of both houses of worship and persons exercising their right to free assembly and free speech near houses of worship.”
As a fig leaf, Mamdani has so far kept open the Office to Combat Antisemitism, which was established last May. Many here will be looking to see how he staffs it and what it does.
Several members of Mamdani’s transition team have a history of involvement in actions calling for the destruction of Israel. Zakiyeh Shaakir-Ansari, on the youth and education committee, was pictured in 2024 behind a banner with an inverted red triangle — Hamas’ symbol for Jews their death squads target.
City University professor Ramzi Kassem was appointed by Mamdani as New York City’s chief counsel. In 2024, Kassem worked closely with Jew-hating group Within Our Lifetime as it organized an event to glorify Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7, 2023, pogrom that killed 1,200 people and wounded thousands more in Israel.
The new administration has unapologetically stripped away measures aimed at dealing with the marked rise in deadly Jew-hating assaults in the U.S. and worldwide. It has thrown out measures backing Israel, as it continues the fight to prevent Hamas from destroying the one state that offers Jews a refuge.
The new city administration is building on Mamdani’s election campaign, which aimed to normalize Jew-hatred within capitalist politics. Its first actions should be opposed by workers and our unions.