NYC Mayor’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism Holds First Meeting With Reps From Nearly All City Agencies

New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s interagency task force to combat antisemitism held its inaugural meeting on Thursday at City Hall in Manhattan.

Adams signed Executive Order 51 in May that created the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, the first office of its kind in a major city in the US. Moshe Davis is the executive director of the mayoral office and is also the head of the interagency task force. The task force’s main partners include the New York Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force, Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, and New York City Commission on Human Rights.

Representatives from nearly all New York City agencies attended the task force’s first meeting on Thursday, including members from the departments and offices of sanitation, education, family justice, environmental protection, small business services, health and mental hygiene, and correction. There were also representatives from the Fire Department and City Parks, and the Jewish community’s liaison for the city’s Commission on Human Rights attended as well.

During the meeting, the group collaborated and discussed ways to tackle antisemitism as it relates to their various fields, for example antisemitic crimes targeting small businesses, ensuring street entrances to synagogues are safe with the help of the Department of Transportation, and responding to hate crimes happening in parks such as antisemitic swastika graffiti. Around 4 percent of antisemitic hate crimes take place in the city’s parks, according to Davis.

“Our agencies are really excited to be doing this work,” Davis said. “They are saying, ‘Hey if there is a problem, we want to be a part of the solution. We are in. We want to do this.’ And there is really a diverse group of people.”

The Algemeiner sat in for the meeting’s opening remarks, but then members of the press were ushered out so representatives from the city agencies could speak openly and privately.

“We are all here to make sure that we become a shining example in city government of what to do, of what not to do, and of what will be tolerated,” First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro said at the start of the meeting. “We are a city that welcomes diversity – diversity of race, background, socio-economic status … [we have to make sure] that our brothers and sisters in every religious community feel embraced and safe … we will be a better city. A city with a bigger heart.”

After the meeting, Davis told The Algemeiner that similar meetings with all members of the task force will take place in-person at least quarterly, but he will also meet one-on-one with task force members and teams on a regular basis.

Davis shared that during the meeting, attendees discussed the mission of the task force, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism – which New York City adopted in June – antisemitism training, how to keep synagogues safe, and other similar topics. He said the group also talked at length about specific measures that can be taken to combat antisemitism in “hot spots” throughout New York – most notably the Brooklyn areas of Crown Heights, Williamsburg and Midwood – where there are large Jewish populations and have been a number of recent hate crimes targeting Jews. Davis said the task force is focused on addressing antisemitism in these communities.

“Antisemitism is a pervasive, ugly disease that has sadly infiltrated so many sectors of our city, but we will never allow that to stand unanswered under our administration,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement shared with The Algemeiner. “Today, we continue to tackle this crisis head on by rooting out hateful rhetoric and ensuring it has no place in even the most remote corners of our city government. From schools to sanitation to police, our administration will never allow antisemitism — or any other form of hate — to persist. We will continue to build a future in which every New Yorker can live without any fear of hatred.”

After creating the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism in May, Adams signed Executive Order No. 52 in June officially recognizing the IHRA definition of antisemitism and encouraging all city agencies to use it as a tool to help identify and response to antisemitic behavior in New York.

The city’s mayoral election is in November, and Adams — a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community – is running for another term as an independent. New York City Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a staunch advocate of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and a fierce critic of the Jewish state, won the Democratic Party primary in June and is a frontrunner to win the general election.

Adams did not attend the task force meeting on Thursday and instead showed face at a reelection rally that took place outside City Hall at the same time. During the start of the meeting, participants could hear rally goers chanting “four more years” outside the building.

Davis told press on Thursday that any future administration that wants to disband the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism would need to create an executive order to rescind Executive Order 51.

Many Jewish community members have expressed concern that antisemitism might increase under Mandani if he is elected in November because of his anti-Israel views. The Algemeiner asked Mastro about those concerns on Thursday, and in his response, he turned the focus to Adams, describing him as a uniter. “This mayor unites. He brings people from all races, background and faiths together,” Mastro said. “He stands up for all of that.”

Earlier this month, Mastro sent a letter to New York City Comptroller Brad Lander demanding documentation that explains the latter’s decision to withdraw tens of millions of dollars in city pension funds from bonds issued by Israel. Mastro’s deadline for Lander was Thursday. The deputy mayor told The Algemeiner he has yet to receive the requested documentation and does not expect to. He also hinted that he might be pursing legal action against the comptroller.

Lander “made a conscious decision to allow investments in Israel Bonds to run their course and not reinvest at all,” Mastro said. “He is the first comptroller in 50 years [ to do so]. But he said it’s not divesting … Today I do not expect to get any documentation from the comptroller … In the bond portfolio, Israel Bonds have performed better than the rest of the bonds. So why would you get rid of Israel Bonds? You have a fiduciary duty to maximum the return for the city … and certainly you have an obligation to provide documentation to show how this decision was made.”

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