New York mayor issues order targeting Israel divestment weeks before Mamdani assumes offices | New York
Less than a month before handing the keys to the mayoralty to Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel, New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued two executive orders he said were intended to combat anti-Semitism.
first order It prohibits city agency heads and staff from participating in “any policy that discriminates against the state of Israel, against Israeli citizens because of their national origin, or against individuals or organizations because of their affiliation with Israel.” Officials who oversee the city pension system are also barred from making decisions consistent with the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement that Mamdani says he supports.
a second order Instructs Jessica Tisch, New York City police commissioner, to consider proposals to regulate protest activity occurring near houses of worship. This comes after demonstrations last month outside a synagogue on the Upper East Side hosting an event promoting immigration to Israel sparked allegations of anti-Semitism.
“New York City has always been the meeting point of this nation, but over the last several years we have often seen people of Jewish ancestry singled out and targeted,” Adams said in a statement. He said the measures are aimed at “protecting New Yorkers’ tax revenues and protecting their right to practice their religion without harassment.”
The measures are seen as an effort to rein in Mamdani, a democratic socialist who will take office as the city’s first Muslim mayor on January 1 and whose support for the Palestinian cause has sparked opposition within the city’s Jewish community.
The city’s pension investments total more than $250 billion, including about $300 million in Israeli bonds and assets, according to the mayor’s office. Mamdani criticized the city’s investment in Israel-based funds.
The city’s outgoing comptroller, Brad Lander, halted investment in Israeli bonds and faced accusations, including from Adams, that he supports BDS. lander insisted It merely ended preferential treatment to Israel by stating that the city did not owe any other government debt.
Mamdani will have the power to reverse orders if criticism of Israel turns into antisemitism, which is sure to further inflame long-running debates. But there is little argument for Adams. “Executive Order 60 makes clear: BDS has no place in our city. The movement is antisemitic in nature and discriminatory in practice. NYC charters and pensions must serve the public interest. Discrimination is illegal. Antisemitism is abhorrent.” wrote to x.
These moves come as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored Mamdani’s pledge 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 that it had reasonable grounds to believe that Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza following Hamas’ cross-border attack on Israeli citizens on October 7, 2023.
However, the United States is not a signatory to the 1998 Rome statute establishing the court. Donald Trump described Netanyahu as a “war hero”.
At a New York Times media conference on Wednesday, Netanyahu said he planned to visit New York despite Mamdani’s threats to arrest him.
“Yes, I will come to New York,” Netanyahu said in a virtual interview with the New York Times’ Dealbook forum.
The Israeli leader was asked if he wanted to meet with Mamdani, who said he supported Israel’s right to exist but resisted saying Israel had the right to be a Jewish state, saying no country should have a “citizenship hierarchy.”
“If he changes his mind and says we have the right to exist, that would be a good start to the conversation,” Netanyahu said.
