Mamdani Faces First Major Test as Adams Bars New York City From Boycotting Israel

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, still weeks from taking office, is already confronting challenges over his positions on Israel and support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement.One such challenge emerged Wednesday when outgoing Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order barring the city from boycotting and disinvesting from Israel. Mr. Adams, a vocal supporter of the Jewish state who recently returned from a trip to Israel, announced the measure while attending a North American mayors’ summit on antisemitism.The executive order prohibits “agency heads, agency chief contracting officers,” and “other mayoral appointees” from “carrying out policy decisions that discriminate against the state of Israel or Israeli citizens based on their national origin.”He also signed a second order directing the New York Police Department to strengthen protections of synagogues and other houses of worship from harassment, a likely response to an unruly protest that took place steps from a prominent Manhattan synagogue last month.“New York City not only has a strong bond with the State of Israel because of our commitment to protecting a Jewish homeland, but also because it has always been a sound financial investment, and our financial decisions should continue to reflect that truth,” Mr. Adams stated. The measure affirms “that our investments and contracts should be made on the basis of what is best for New York City and our economic future, and not in pursuit of discriminatory policies on the basis of politics and national origin.”The order raises the question of whether Mr. Mamdani will rescind it once he takes office in January. The mayor-elect has supported the BDS movement and during his campaign suggested he would back divesting city pension funds from Israel.New York City’s five pension systems collectively invest nearly $300 billion in global securities, including some $300 million in Israeli bonds and assets, according to the mayor’s office. Earlier this year, the city’s outgoing comptroller, Brad Lander, declined to reinvest Israeli bonds that matured. The incoming comptroller, Mark Levine, has pledged to reverse Mr. Lander’s efforts and reinvest in Israeli bonds.When asked in November whether his administration would impose BDS policies, Mr. Mamdani replied: “I’ve said that I would support and have supported non-violent movements to bring about compliance with international law. And where this mayor has violated and looked to violate that kind of law, I would bring us back into compliance.”Mr. Mamdani has also stated he would order the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York, citing a warrant from the International Criminal Court against the Israeli leader on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. America, however, is not a member of the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its authority. Mr. Mamdani likely lacks the legal authority to compel an arrest based on an ICC warrant alone.The mayor-elect now faces pressure from multiple directions. Staunchly anti-Israel members of his base have criticized his decision to retain NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch. This week, Within Our Lifetime, a prominent anti-Israel advocacy group, launched a campaign claiming Ms. Tisch’s appointment “effectively endorses the NYPD’s ongoing collaboration with the Israeli occupation” and marks “a retreat from the values of justice and liberation that Mamdani’s campaign claimed to champion.”Additionally, a recently leaked internal document from New York City’s Democratic Socialists of America — of which Mr. Mamdani has been a member since 2017 — offered a glimpse into the group’s strategy to pressure the mayor-elect into adopting anti-Israel policies after he takes office in January.The policy “demands” outlined in the planning document include measures as extreme as ending all city contracts with “companies that do business with Israel” and arresting “Netanyahu and active IDF soldiers for war crimes.” Other demands include divesting city pension funds from Israeli bonds and securities and withdrawing city funds from banks that lend money to Israel or do business there.

Mamdani Faces First Major Test as Adams Bars New York City From Boycotting Israel

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