New York City Mayor Eric Adams signs an executive order adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and urges the City Council to codify the definition into law.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order on Sunday formally recognizing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, JNS reported.
This significant move aims to provide a clearer framework for city agencies to identify and address what Mayor Adams described as a “vile disease” of Jew-hatred.
The executive order states that “The City of New York recognizes, and city agencies shall consider as appropriate, the IHRA working definition of antisemitism, as adopted on May 26, 2016, as well as the 11 contemporary examples.” These examples include “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.”
City agencies are encouraged to utilize these materials “to facilitate constructive discourse, further understanding and enable a more thoughtful response to harmful antisemitic behavior.”
Mayor Adams announced the executive order at Tribeca Synagogue, where he was a guest of Dr. Phil. Their conversation is scheduled to air on June 17 on the “Dr. Phil Primetime” show.
In his remarks, Mayor Adams highlighted the alarming rise in antisemitism, particularly since the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas.
“Antisemitism is a vile disease that’s been spreading across our nation and our city,” the mayor stated, as quoted by JNS. “What’s worse, since Hamas’s terror attacks on Oct. 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.’”
The mayor underscored the disproportionate impact of hate crimes on the Jewish community in New York City. “When Jewish New Yorkers make up 11% of the population but more than half of all hate crimes, we know this moment demands bold, decisive action to crack down on anti-Jewish hatred,” he asserted.
Calling the executive order a “landmark” step, Mayor Adams urged further action. “I am calling on the City Council to join this commitment to target antisemitism everywhere it exists and immediately pass a bill to codify this definition into law. It’s time we all come together to eradicate this hatred from our city, once and for all,” he declared.
The IHRA working definition offers a comprehensive description of antisemitism in its various forms, including hatred and discrimination against Jews, Holocaust denial and, sometimes controversially, the way antisemitism relates to the ways criticism of Israel is expressed.
More than half the states in the US have adopted or endorsed the IHRA definition, plus the District of Columbia, either as legislation or as an educational standard.
