New York City Mayor Lifts Some Pro-Israel Policies

Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani. (ANTARA/Anadolu)

JAKARTA - New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, on his first day in office, signed an executive order revoking a number of policies of his predecessor, Eric Adams, including measures that have long been seen as a form of support for Israel.

Based on the executive order signed by Mamdani on Thursday (1/1), all policies signed on or after September 26, 2024 and still in force until December 31, 2025 are no longer valid.

Meanwhile, the longer executive order remains in effect unless specifically amended or revoked.

The move effectively overturns several policies previously signed by Eric Adams, including an order issued last month banning city government agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel.

Another order that was also revoked was a policy signed last June that adopted a broad definition of antisemitism, including categorizing a number of forms of criticism of Israel as examples of antisemitism.

However, Mamdani did not revoke the establishment of the New York City Anti-Semitism Office, which was formed by the previous government and will continue to operate. The order also emphasized that the revocation did not affect the current emergency executive order.

Citing The New York Times, New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman assessed that the revoked policy seemed like last-minute measures aimed at limiting views that were not in line with the previous mayor's stance.

According to Lieberman, it is not surprising that the new government will immediately reverse the pro-Israel policy.

"The right to freedom of speech does not depend on one's point of view. This applies to views on Israel or Gaza, to political activism related to the conflict, and also to every other political issue we face," Lieberman said.