The Israeli Foreign Ministry has reacted sharply to the new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, after his decision to repeal several executive orders approved by his predecessor, Eric Adams. In a post on the social network X, the Israeli diplomacy accused Mamdani of “pouring gasoline on an open anti-Semitic fire,” warning that abandoning the definition of anti-Semitism according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) sends dangerous signals to the Jewish community and to the public climate in the city.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, the IHRA definition is an indispensable international standard for identifying and combating anti-Semitism, while its abandonment in a city like New York, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, is seen as a regressive step. Israeli diplomacy announced that it is closely following developments and that it awaits further clarification from the city authorities on the direction the new policies will take.
For his part, Mamdani defended the decision, stressing that the repeal of the executive orders aims to give the new administration a “clean start” and review inherited policies without political bias. According to him, the IHRA definition has often been used to equate criticism of the policies of the state of Israel with anti-Semitism, restricting freedom of expression and political debate. He stressed that opposing a government’s policies does not constitute hatred of a religious or ethnic community.
According to the Guardian, Mamdani has guaranteed that his administration will continue to keep the special office for combating antisemitism active and that the protection of the Jewish community remains a priority. He added that New York City should be a space where antisemitism in all its forms is combated, but at the same time the right to political criticism and free expression is protected, without fear of institutional sanctions.
