Zohran Mamdani Revokes Former NYC Mayor’s Pro-Israel Executive Orders on His First Day in Office

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his first day in office to strike down a series of pro-Israel executive orders issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams.

Mamdani’s new order cancels all executive directives Adams put in place after being indicted on federal corruption charges.

Among those nullified is a December order that barred New York City agencies from joining boycotts or divesting from Israel, and another from June that adopted a sweeping definition of antisemitism.

That definition, based on the I.H.R.A. framework, treated certain kinds of anti‑Israel speech, such as opposition to Israel’s identity as a Jewish state, as antisemitic.

The move quickly drew fire from conservative‑leaning Jewish leaders who had opposed Mamdani’s mayoral bid. Brooklyn Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov accused the new mayor on social media of scrapping protections “for Jews who believe in self-determination,” and later warned that “pro‑Hamas antisemites emboldened by” his decision were on the rise.

Civil liberties advocates, however, welcomed the rollback. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said Adams’s late‑term orders looked like “last‑ditch attempts to suppress viewpoints that the mayor and his benefactors disagreed with,” and argued they had a chilling effect on constitutionally protected political speech.

“The right to free speech does not depend on your viewpoint,” she said, noting that applied just as much to debates over Israel and Gaza as to any other contentious issue.

Mamdani’s stance on Israel has long divided Jewish New Yorkers. The city, which has the largest Jewish population outside Israel, elected him despite his vocal support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (B.D.S.) movement and his description of Israel as an apartheid state that must provide equal rights to people of all faiths rather than privilege Jews in its laws and institutions.

Some Jewish voters say his criticism of Israeli policy mirrors their own values; others remain deeply uneasy about his approach.