Newly inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism for repealing executive orders issued by former Mayor Eric Adams aimed at tackling antisemitism, including implementing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and an anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions order.

The revocation of those orders came as part of a blanket repeal of all of Adams’ executive orders following his September 2024 indictment on federal corruption charges, which Mamdani said “was a date that marked a moment when many New Yorkers decided politics held nothing for them.”

In a joint statement, the UJA-Federation of New York, Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, American Jewish Committee of New York, Anti-Defamation League of New York/New Jersey, the New York Board of Rabbis and the Orthodox Union said that the Jewish community “will be looking for clear and sustained leadership that demonstrates a serious commitment to confronting antisemitism and ensures that the powers of the mayor’s office are used to promote safety and unity, not to advance divisive efforts such as BDS.

“Singling Israel out for sanction is not the way to make Jewish New Yorkers feel included and safe, and will undermine any words to that effect,” the statement continued.

William Daroff, CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said that the repeal of the executive orders “is a troubling indicator of the direction in which [Mamdani] is leading the city, just one day at the helm.”

“Repealing [the IHRA definition] diminishes New York City’s ability to recognize and respond to antisemitism at a time when incidents continue to rise,” Daroff said in a statement. “New York City should lead with moral clarity and resolve in confronting antisemitism. This decision points in the opposite direction.”

The Anti-Defamation League of New York and New Jersey said it is “deeply troubled that on his first day in office Mayor Mamdani weakened protections to fight antisemitism by revoking executive orders adopting the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism and providing safeguards against Israel-related discrimination in city procurement and pension decision-making.”

“While the continuation of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism (MOCA) is welcome and important, revoking these executive orders removes key tools for addressing antisemitism, including BDS-driven efforts that seek to demonize, delegitimize, and isolate the world’s only Jewish state,” the ADL continued.

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said that the Department of Justice “will be extremely vigilant … as to ANY AND ALL violations of religious liberties in NYC. We will investigate, sue, and indict as needed.”

New York State Assemblymember Sam Berger, a Democrat, said, “I find it highly concerning that on day one, under the cover of a sweeping EO, @NYCMayor repealed the IHRA definition from NYC law. Removing how a majority of Jewish New Yorkers define hatred towards us doesn’t exactly build trust.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said on X that the repeal shows Mamdani’s “true face.”

“This isn’t leadership. It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire,” the statement continued.

Israeli Ambassador Ofir Akuns, the consul general of Israel in New York, called Mamdani’s moves “dangerous” and said they “pose an immediate threat to the safety of Jewish communities in New York City and could lead to an increase in violent antisemitic attacks throughout the city.”

Responding to a story about the executive order, Department of Justice senior counsel Leo Terrell said, “To Jewish Americans who voted for Mamdani! SHAME ON YOU!”

New York City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, a Republican, called for federal action to protect Jewish institutions in response to the repeal of another Adams executive order placing additional restrictions on protest outside of religious institutions.

“We need to enforce federal law that’s already in place here because the pro-Hamas antisemites emboldened by [Mamdani] are coming,” Vernikov said on X, tagging Dhillon and Terrell.

Mamdani issued a new executive order largely mirroring Adams’ order on the same issue.

He also announced on Thursday that he would keep the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, created by Adams, in operation, stating that he takes the issue “very seriously.”

Both of those moves were praised in the joint statement from the New York Jewish organizations.

His office, however, deleted multiple posts from the mayoral X account about a recent report on antisemitism in the city issued by that office under Adams, which also elicited criticism. Mamdani has not said what the office’s work going forward will entail or who will staff it.

Mark Goldfeder, the director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center, said on X that it is “[h]ard to overstate how disturbing it is that one of the first acts of the new @NYCMayor was to delete official tweets and EO’s addressing the protection of Jewish New Yorkers,” a sentiment echoed in a letter he sent to Mamdani.

Adams, who attended Mamdani’s inauguration, also repeatedly criticized the new mayor.

“[Mamdani] promised a New Era and unity today. This isn’t new. And it isn’t unity,” Adams said on X, adding later, “To my knowledge, neither [former New York mayors Michael] Bloomberg, [Bill] de Blasio, nor Adams scrubbed antisemitism tweets on day one. I’ve been clear: I will be vocal in defending our Jewish brothers and sisters, just as they stood up for African Americans during the civil rights era.”