New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Sunday signed an executive order to recognize an international definition of antisemitism in order to enable "a thoughtful response" to crimes against Jewish New Yorkers.
The executive order recognizes the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA), a working definition of antisemitism. Amidst a historic rise in antisemitic incidents across the five boroughs and the rest of the nation, Adams said he is taking a stance against acts of hatred and violence against New York’s Jewish community, totaling approximately 960,000, or more than 11% of the city’s population.
The order directs agencies to use this working definition to identify and address incidents of antisemitism across the city, as well as to raise awareness of this crisis. The mayor also urged the City Council to codify this definition in new legislation.
“Antisemitism is a vile disease that’s been spreading across our nation and our city. What’s worse, since Hamas’ terror attacks on October 7, 2023, we have seen this hateful rhetoric become normalized on our campuses, in our communities, and online as antisemitic propaganda far too often masquerades as ‘activism,'" Adams said in a statement.
This working definition was first adopted by the IHRA’s 31 member states, of which the United States is a member, in May 2016. This definition outlines specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism to illustrate how this form of hatred appears in daily life, such as “accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust,” “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination e.g., by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” and “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.” This non-legally binding working definition has been recognized by the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Education, 35 states, the District of Columbia, and over 80 other localities.
“Recognizing the IHRA definition of antisemitism is critical to confront hate and understand the pervasiveness of antisemitism,” said Moshe Davis, the executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism. “We will no longer tolerate denying the Jewish community the right to self-determination, using code words to demean Jewish New Yorkers, or targeting our community while claiming to target Zionists; we’ve seen the violence this breeds. Antisemitism has no place in our schools, our government or our city.”
