New York City’s mayor, Eric Adams, has issued two executive orders he says are meant to combat antisemitism, less than a month before he hands over the keys to the mayoralty to Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel.
The first order prohibits city agency heads and staff from engaging in “any policy that discriminates against the state of Israel, Israeli citizens based on their national origin, or individuals or entities based on their association with Israel”. It also prohibits officials overseeing the city pension system from making decisions in line with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, which Mamdani has said he supports.
A second order directs the New York City police commissioner, currently Jessica Tisch, to evaluate proposals for regulating protest activity occurring close to houses of worship. That comes after demonstrations last month outside an Upper East Side synagogue hosting an event promoting immigration to Israel sparked claims of antisemitism.
“New York City has always been this nation’s melting pot, but, too often, over the last few years, we’ve seen those of Jewish ancestry be singled out and targeted,” Adams said in a statement. He said the measures aimed to “protect New Yorkers’ tax dollars and protect their right to practice their religion without harassment”.
The measures are seen as an effort to curb Mamdani, a democratic socialist, who will take office as the city’s first Muslim mayor on 1 January and whose support for the Palestinian cause has sparked opposition within the city’s Jewish community.
The city’s pension investments amount to more than $250bn, with about $300m in Israeli bonds and assets, according to the mayor’s office. Mamdani has been critical of the city investing in funds based in Israel.
Brad Lander, the city’s outgoing comptroller, stopped investment in Israeli bonds, drawing accusations of support for BDS, including from Adams. Lander insisted he was merely ending preferential treatment for Israel, noting the city did not own any other sovereign debt.
Mamdani will have the power to reverse the orders, which are certain to further fuel long-running debates around when criticism of Israel slides into antisemitism. For Adams, however, there is little debate. “Executive Order 60 makes it clear: BDS has no place in our city. The movement is antisemitic in nature and discriminatory in practice. NYC contracts and pensions must serve the public good. Discrimination is illegal. Antisemitism is abhorrent,” he wrote on X.
The moves come as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appeared to thumb his nose at a pledge by Mamdani to send the NYPD to enforce arrest warrants against foreign political leaders wanted by the international criminal court (ICC), including Netanyahu.
The Hague-based ICC said last year it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that followed a cross-border Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.
But the US is not a signatory to the 1998 Rome statute that established the court. Donald Trump has described Netanyahu as a “war hero”.
At a New York Times media conference on Wednesday, Netanyahu said he planned to visit New York City despite Mamdani’s threats to arrest him.
“Yes, I’ll come to New York,” Netanyahu said in a virtual interview with the New York Times’ Dealbook forum.
The Israeli leader was asked if he would seek to speak with Mamdani, who has said he supports Israel’s right to exist but has resisted saying it has a right to be a Jewish state, saying no country should have a “hierarchy of citizenship”.
“If he changes his mind and says that we have the right to exist, that’ll be a good opening for a conversation,” Netanyahu said.
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