New NYC Mayor cancels former administration’s Israel-linked directives

(MENAFN) On his first day in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order revoking a number of directives issued by his predecessor, Eric Adams, including policies previously framed as support for Israel.

The order, issued on Thursday, annuls all directives signed on or after September 26, 2024, that were still in effect as of December 31, 2025. Earlier executive orders remain active unless explicitly amended or revoked.

Among the rescinded measures was a directive adopted last month that prohibited city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel. Another revoked order, issued in June, applied a broad definition of antisemitism that labeled certain criticisms of Israel as antisemitic. Mamdani’s executive order, however, does not affect the city’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which continues to operate, nor does it impact emergency orders currently in force.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the revoked orders appeared to be last-minute actions intended to limit viewpoints that the previous mayor opposed. “The right to free speech does not depend on your viewpoint, and that is true for speech about Israel or Gaza, it is true about political activism about that conflict, and it is true about any other political issue that we face,” she said.

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