Seyit Kurt
02 January 2026•Update: 03 January 2026
ISTANBUL
On his first day in office, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order revoking a series of directives issued by his predecessor Eric Adams, including measures that had been presented as support for Israel.
According to the executive order issued by Mamdani on Thursday, all directives signed on or after Sept. 26, 2024, and still in effect as of Dec. 31, 2025, were annulled, while earlier executive orders remain in force unless otherwise amended or revoked.
The move effectively annulled several orders signed by former Mayor Eric Adams, including one adopted last month that barred city agencies from boycotting or divesting from Israel.
Another revoked directive, signed in June, endorsed a broad definition of antisemitism that classified certain forms of criticism of Israel as antisemitic. Mamdani, however, did not revoke the establishment of the city’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which was created by the previous administration and will continue operating.
The order also said it does not affect emergency executive orders currently in force.
According to The New York Times, Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the revoked orders appeared to be last-minute measures aimed at limiting viewpoints the previous mayor disagreed with, adding that it was "no surprise" the new administration moved to rescind them.
"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.
