New York City Mayor Eric Adams has issued two executive orders aimed at addressing anti-Semitism, his office said on Thursday, weeks before Zohran Mamdani takes his place.
Mr Adams, who recently returned from a trip to Israel, issued an executive order prohibiting city agency leaders and mayoral appointments from “engaging in procurement practices that discriminate against the state of Israel, Israeli citizens, or those associated with Israel”.
It also bars city pension administrators and trustees from “opposing divestment from bonds and other assets that would discriminate against the state of Israel, Israeli citizens, or those associated with Israel”, the order states.
A second order directs New York City Police commissioner Jessica Tisch to consider ideas for how to regulate protests taking place near houses of worship.
That order comes after a recent protest outside of a synagogue on the Upper East Side that drew criticism from some Jewish leaders, prompting Ms Tisch to apologise for the NYPD’s handling of the event.
Mr Mamdani, a Democratic socialist and outspoken critic of Israel, is set to be inaugurated on January 1. The Queens assembly member has long supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
The city’s pension funds no longer hold any Israeli bonds, after departing Comptroller Brad Lander divested from them. But the funds still hold $291 million worth of investments in Israeli companies.
Mr Lander, who endorsed Mr Mamdani, has said the decision to divest from Israel bonds was based on risk and was not motivated by political concerns.
Mr Adams’s executive orders come days after Apollo Global Management’s Marc Rowan, at a fundraiser, called Mr Mamdani an “enemy” of the Jewish people.
Mr Mamdani has said he intends to keep Ms Tisch as the city’s police commissioner when he takes office.
A representative for his transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
