Tipsheet

Guess What Mamdani Did on Day One As NYC Mayor

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  January 02, 2026 1:00 PM

Israel and other critics have condemned New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, for revoking several executive orders issued by former mayor Eric Adams that shielded the city’s Jewish community from antisemitism and barred city officials from participating in boycotts against Israel.

One of the orders Mamdani repealed an executive order that adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which includes “demonizing Israel and holding it to double standards as forms of contemporary antisemitism," according to Adam's administration.

This definition is considered by Jewish leaders to be the standard in combating antisemitism. 

“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 an X post. “This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”

Another order that was repealed ensured that city officials on the taxpayers' dime were unable to boycott or divest from Israel.

Yet another order, which Mamdani rescinded, had required the NYPD to step up security around synagogues to protect attendees from harassment, including creating designated no-protest zones around these sites.

“We need to enforce federal law that’s already in place here because the pro-Hamas antisemites emboldened by @NYCMayor are coming!” Brooklyn Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov posted on X.

“Mamdani @NYCMayor just UNDID previous executive order which adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism,” she wrote in a separate post. “IHRA protects from discrimination Jews who believe in self determination and provides clarity on the definition.”

In yet another post, she wrote:

The IHRA definition of Antisemitism is recognized GLOBALLY by over 40 countries, including the European Union, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Germany. Numerous states in the U.S., including New York State, major Jewish organizations and many college campuses. Good enough for GERMANY, but NOT good enough for Mamdani @NYCMayor.