JAMES GENN, IDAN KWELLER
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani revoked an executive order adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, including provisions linking some anti-Zionist rhetoric to antisemitism.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani pictured during his first day in office, January 1, 2026.
(photo credit: Dave Sanders/Pool via REUTERS)
Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani rescinded a series of executive orders on his first day in office on Thursday, including one that deemed anti-Zionist rhetoric as antisemitic.
His predecessor, Eric Adams, signed the order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance‘s definition of antisemitism, which includes clauses in its definition such as “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” and “Accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations.”
Other clauses include “Accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust,” “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis,” or “Holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.”
According to the mayor’s office, Mamdani rescinded all executive orders signed by Adams since September 26, 2024, when the previous mayor was indicted.
Mamdani, then a state assemblyman nominated as the Democratic Party candidate, pledged in a September interview with Bloomberg News that he would rescind the acceptance of the IHRA definition of antisemitism if elected.
Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as mayor of New York City, flanked by his wife Rama Duwaji and New York Attorney General Letitia James, at Old City Hall Station, New York, US, Thursday, Jan 1st 2026. (credit: Amir Hamja/Pool via REUTERS)
During the public swearing-in ceremony on the steps of City Hall, Mamdani vowed to enact an aggressive agenda aimed at making the nation’s largest city more affordable for working people.
Mamdani’s journey to becoming mayor has not been without controversy, most notably because of his strongly anti-Israel, pro-Palestine stance and rhetoric – something that the Jewish community fears may manifest in increased antisemitism on the ground.
Two-thirds of NYC’s Jews did not vote for Mamdani, and many have expressed explicit concern about the new mayor’s actions. A November edition of JPPI’s Voice of the Jewish People Index showed that 67% of US Jews believe Mamdani’s victory will endanger New York’s Jews.
Additionally, a December ADL report found that 20% of Mamdani’s administrative appointees have ties to anti-Zionist groups. Some have even justified Hamas’s actions or celebrated the October 7 attacks. Many are members of Students for Justice in Palestine and Democratic Socialists of America, groups which Mamdani himself has long served as an organizer for.
Mamdani has accused Israel of “genocide” and “apartheid” and has promised to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he set foot in New York.
Herzog criticises Mamdani’s rhetoric as harmful to New York’s Jewish community
President Isaac Herzog sharply criticized New York City’s then-mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, in December, for comments he described as “outrageous” and harmful to Jewish communities during a speech at Yeshiva University in New York City.
Herzog said the mayor-elect’s remarks questioning Jews’ right to move to Israel and participate in traditional Zionist practices not only delegitimize the Jewish people’s ancient homeland but also “legitimize violence and undermine freedom of religion.” He labeled such rhetoric both anti-Jewish and anti-American.
Mathilda Heller, Pesach Benson/TPS, and Reuters contributed to this report.
Mamdani repeals order defining anti-Zionism as antisemitism