New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani used his sweeping executive order targeting his predecessor Eric Adams’ legacy as a way to disguise his intention to revoke city policies that support Israel, according to a report.
The far-left socialist never planned to extend Adams’ executive orders that supported the Jewish state, but his inner circle was concerned that his day-one overhaul would upset Jewish groups he’d vowed on the campaign trail to protect, the New York Times reported.
Mamdani’s lawyers briefed the newly minted mayor in recent days on how he could revoke the pro-Israel policies enacted by his predecessor — by either canceling all of Adams’ executive orders from 2025 or dealing with them one at a time, sources told the outlet.
Mayor Mamdani at his inauguration with his wife, Rama Duwaji. OLGA FEDOROVA/EPA/Shutterstock
Instead, Mamdani ultimately decided to rescind every executive order issued by Adams since the day he was indicted on federal corruption charges in September 2024, which included two key policies that protected Israel and combated antisemitism.
It allowed him to frame the sweeping executive order as a matter of good governance, the sources told the Times.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani leaves his apartment on his second day in office on January 3, 2025. Michael Nigro for NY Post
After issuing the order, Hizzoner insisted that it gave his administration a “clean slate.”
Among the revoked anti-Israel orders is one signed by Adams just last month that barred city officials from boycotting or divesting from Israel.
Another repealed an order that adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, which Adams’ administration said included “demonizing Israel and holding it to double standards as forms of contemporary antisemitism.”
Mayor Mamdani signed a number of executive orders during his first day in office. Tomas E. Gaston for NY Post
The revocations drew immediate pushback from Israel, the Foreign Ministry of which accused Mamdani of dumping “antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”
A coalition of US Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the UJA Federation of New York, said in a more stately criticism Friday that Mamdani “reversed two significant protections against antisemitism,” according to the Times.
The New York Post front cover on Saturday, January 3, 2025. csuarez
Adams’ administration knew the orders would be sticky for Mamdani to remove as he took charge of the city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel.
“To rescind it comes at a cost, because it requires an explanation,” Randy Mastro, Adams’ first deputy mayor, told the Times. “And when there’s no rationale or explanation other than you don’t like Israel, there’s consequences for that.”
Former NYC Mayor Eric Adams meets with the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, Monday, November 17, 2025. Benny Polatseck/Mayoral Photography Office
Mamdani’s spokesperson, Dora Pokec, told the Times that discussions on revoking Adams’ orders had been ongoing “throughout the fall, throughout the transition, and communicated directly to the public that this was our intention, even before they cast ballots for us.”
Mamdani on Saturday said the decision was made to restore the public’s trust in the office of the mayor after Adams’ indictment.