NYC becomes first major US city to create office to combat antisemitism

New York City on Tuesday became the first major American city to establish an Office to Combat Antisemitism under the local administration of NYC Mayor Eric Adams.

The new office will be dedicated to "fighting antisemitism in all its forms, including by monitoring court cases and outcomes at all levels of the justice system, liaising with the New York City Law Department on appropriate cases to bring or join, advising on executive orders to issue and legislation to propose to address antisemitism, and working across agencies to ensure New Yorkers feel protected against antisemitism and address incidents of antisemitism," the mayor’s office said in an official statement.

NYC authorities will "work to ensure city-funded entities and city agencies do not permit different forms of antisemitism,” it stated.

The NY Metropolitan area is home to some 1.3 million Jews, the largest number of Jews outside of the State of Israel. 

Moshe Davis was appointed as the city’s first executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism and has vowed a strong response against antisemitism. 

"Combating antisemitism requires a sledgehammer approach: coordinated, unapologetic, and immediate,” he stated. Davis thanked Adams for his dedication to the local Jewish community. 

"Mayor Adams has been a modern-day Maccabee, standing up for the Jewish community, and, with the establishment of this office, he is strengthening his resolve to ensure Jewish New Yorkers thrive in our city. I look forward to working closely with Mayor Eric Adams and First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro to continue our forceful response against anti-Jewish hate and discrimination," Davis stated. 

“Since day one, our administration made a commitment to all New Yorkers to keep them safe and protect against hate in all forms. As we continue to see the rising tide of antisemitism here at home and across the country, this moment calls for decisive action,” he added. 

Davis concluded by emphasizing that attacks on Jews constitute an attack on the city itself.

“Antisemitism is an attack not only on Jewish New Yorkers, but on the very idea of New York City as a place where people from all backgrounds can live together.”

The number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. and other Western countries has increased dramatically since the Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of 251 people on Oct. 7, 2023.

New York-based Columbia University became the “ground zero” of antisemitic pro-Hamas rallies at campuses across the United States and internationally. Some pro-Palestinian students praised the Hamas massacre and called for Jews “to be killed” and “go back to Poland.”

More than 50% of Israeli Jews are refugees or descendants of Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

Last October, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an American NGO dedicated to fighting antisemitism, reported that more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents have been recorded across the U.S. since Oct. 7, 2023.

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt expressed concerns about the rising levels of antisemitic incidents since the Hamas attack.

“Today, we mourn the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, marking one year since the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. From that day on, Jewish Americans haven’t had a single moment of respite,” Greenblatt said. 

“Instead, we’ve faced a shocking number of antisemitic threats and experienced calls for more violence against Israelis and Jews everywhere,” he warned.