Mamdani Reverses Orders Restricting Anti-Israel Boycotts
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Reverses Eric Adams’ EOs Restricting Anti-Israel Boycotts, Defining Antisemitism
One thing you have to appreciate about New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is that he’s like the anti-Trump.
President Donald Trump must know how often people are calling him racist, xenophobic, and an authoritarian wannabe dictator. He responds to it by doubling down on his racism, xenophobia, and his bids to take over sovereign nations to further U.S. interests. Mamdani is somewhat the same, only he’s using his newfound authority to be on the right side of history. Whereas Trump emphasized his agenda to bolster white supremacy by signing sweeping anti-diversity executive orders during his inauguration, Mamdandi’s first orders of business as NYC’s newly elected mayor included the reversal of two executive orders signed by his predecessor, former Mayor Eric Adams, “one that adopted a broad definition of antisemitism and another that prohibited city employees from engaging in the boycott, divest and sanctions movement against Israel,” according to Politico.
Predictably, pro-Israel advocates are reading this decision as proof that Mamdani is antisemitic, purposely conflating hatred for Jewish people with an opposition to the oppressive, genocidal actions of the Israeli government and the people’s right to protest said government.
Unlike Trump, there’s no real indication that bigotry is the motivator behind Mamdani’s executive actions. However, like Trump, Mamdani isn’t being dissuaded by what his detractors think of him. He doesn’t care how many in the MAGA world were already calling him antisemitic, condemning him simply for being Muslim, absurdly trying to tie him to the 9/11 terror attacks, despite him being a preteen at the time, and whining about him being sworn in on the Quran instead of the Bible — he’s still making decisions that align with what he thinks is right, and the promises he made to his constituents.
Where the president won’t allow allegations of bigotry to stop him from being a bigot, Mamdani won’t let actual bigotry stop him from being mayor. That’s the difference between the two.
Another stark difference between Trump and Mamdani is this: Trump, accused of being a xenophobic bigot, persistently makes statements (against Somalis, Haitians, South Americans, etc.) that prove him to be a xenophobic bigot, while Mamdani, accused of hating Jewish people, makes statements promising to protect Jewish people in his city.
From Politico:
The defunct orders were part of a suite of mayoral decrees signed by Adams that Mamdani revoked. During an unrelated press briefing Friday, Mamdani pledged to protect Jewish New Yorkers, but did not go into much detail about why he tossed the orders.
“My administration will also be marked by a city government that will be relentless in its efforts to combat hate and division, and we will showcase that by fighting hate across the city,” he said. “That includes fighting the scourge of antisemitism by actually funding hate crime prevention, by celebrating our neighbors and by practicing a politics of universality.”
As for the definition of antisemitism adopted by Adams, which was promulgated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, Mamdani noted that many Jewish organizations in the city do not abide by the interpretation, which, for example, equates some criticisms of Israel’s actions as antisemitic.
“I also know that a number, as you said, of leading Jewish organizations have immense concerns around this definition,” Mamdani said, addressing a reporter who had asked about the orders.
When a mayor or president takes it upon themselves to decide which protests are legal and which aren’t, you can bet it’s not about safety or fighting bigotry; it’s about authoritarianism and ideology.
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