On his first day in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani revoked executive orders designed to assist city agencies in identifying and preventing antisemitic discrimination based on a perceived association with Israel.
The following morning, prominent Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee, issued a joint statement denouncing the move.
Mamdani’s administration has remained defiant about reinstituting any sort of definition of antisemitism, let alone one that recognizes the all-too-common points of intersection between anti-Zionism and anti-Jewish bigotry.
Meanwhile, it has gone out of its way to target businesses with an apparent connection to Israelis or the State of Israel.
In early January, Mamdani attempted to prevent the sale of a large, rent-controlled housing portfolio to the Israeli-owned real estate company Summit Properties USA.
City officials argued in court that Summit Properties USA was financially ill-suited to renovate and maintain the low-income rental units in question, yet never once provided an alternative to the judge presiding over the case – who rejected their effort out of hand.
A month later, drone manufacturer Easy Aerial also became the target of City Hall’s anti-Zionist activism. The company’s CEO, Shahar Abuhazira, alleged at the time that board members of the Brooklyn Navy Yard informed him privately they would not renew his company’s lease at the industrial park due to pressure from the mayor’s office.
'Supply chain of genocide'
Since September 2024, anti-Zionist activists have staged weekly protests at Easy Aerial’s offices, accusing the company of being an active participant in a “supply chain of genocide”.
Easy Aerial’s drones, utilized by the IDF for perimeter security, are neither designed as weapons of war nor physically capable of carrying more than a few kilograms, yet this did not stop the mayor’s office from treating the protestors’ claims as authoritative and acting accordingly.
Those concerned about Israel’s long-term security should take notice of Easy Aerial’s abrupt exit from NYC. With weapons sales to Israel quickly becoming a third rail for the Democratic Party, the Israeli government may struggle to secure military equipment from the next US administration. In such a scenario, partnerships with private manufacturers might carry increased importance in maintaining the IDF’s operational readiness.
In response to recent events, the New York-Israel Chamber of Commerce has launched the NYICC Coalition – a business alliance of Jewish, Israeli, and Israel-affiliated businesses. Its ability to effectively combat antisemitism, however, rests in large measure on the extent to which City Hall shifts course to properly confront the issue or continues making it worse.
When a legal representative for the NYPD was recently asked if his department would classify a kosher restaurant vandalized with the phrase “Kill the Zionists” as a hate crime, he answered eerily reminiscent of the Ivy League presidents’ infamous 2023 testimony on Capitol Hill, telling lawmakers the answer would depend on the context.
The NYICC Coalition also faces a broader political climate in which younger Americans appear increasingly hostile to Jewish businesses. In the latest Yale Youth Poll, 21% of American registered voters aged 18-22 and 19% of those aged 23-29 somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement, “It’s appropriate to boycott Jewish American-owned businesses to protest the war in Gaza.”
The result raises the obvious question of how much more support there is among young Americans for boycotting Israeli American-owned businesses. Unlike some progressive spaces post-October 7, mainstream Jewish organizations continue to recognize the inherent bigotry in holding a people collectively responsible for the actions of a government.
The IHRA working definition, Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, and Nexus Document all explicitly denounce such prejudice.
As Jewish, Israeli, and Israel-affiliated businesses attempt to adapt to Mamdani’s political agenda, Israel’s Foreign Ministry should work with diaspora communities residing in other major US cities to forestall similar situations.
Its Foreign Ministry could help ensure future initiatives against antisemitism are anchored in durable legislation rather than executive orders easily reversible with the stroke of a pen.
A common complaint leveled by individuals hesitant to adopt the IHRA definition is that it inherently serves as a tool for suppressing free speech. This concern is easily addressed through legislation that incorporates the IHRA definition as a reference point for identifying antisemitism and explicitly denounces its use as a means of restricting 1st amendment rights.
And Mamdani’s actions as mayor should also serve as a cautionary tale for Israel’s Foreign Ministry not to take the numerous legislative wins against antisemitism achieved in the last decade for granted.
Quintupling its budget for public diplomacy will not change the hearts and minds of a generation of Americans whose opinions about Israelis have already been solidified through hours of daily use on TikTok and Instagram.
The next decade will also necessitate a thoughtful approach to lawfare to maintain and expand protections for Israelis residing or conducting business abroad.
The writer is an intern with the antisemitism and delegitimization research team at the INSS, he is also a master’s student in security and diplomacy studies at Tel Aviv University.