Eric Adams, mayor of New York City, announced two new executive orders—one barring city officials from boycotting Israel and the other protecting New Yorkers from harassment at houses of worship—at the concluding dinner of the 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism in New Orleans on Dec 3.
“New York City has always been this nation’s melting pot, but, too often, over the last few years, we’ve seen those of Jewish ancestry be singled out and targeted,” Adams said.
“Today, we are ensuring our city government doesn’t participate in that type of behavior and are putting in safeguards that protect New Yorkers’ tax dollars and protect their right to practice their religion without harassment,” he added.
The summit, organized by the Combat Antisemitism Movement, drew nearly 200 city leaders and community stakeholders from across the United States and Canada to discuss modern-day Jew-hatred, develop practical and innovative city-oriented strategies and policies to address it and bolster cooperation between municipalities.
“I say to my Jewish brothers and sisters, your legacy in this generation is to say we run no more. We stand and fight. We don’t live in fear, hoping that it goes away,” Adams said. “We must stop antisemitism because we are all connected, and we’re all involved in this together.”
The first executive order the mayor announced was Executive Order 60, which prohibits “agency heads, agency chief contracting officers, and any other Mayoral appointees with discretion over contracting” from procurements that discriminate “against the State of Israel, Israeli citizens based on their national origin or individuals or entities based on their association with Israel.”
The order notes that the city’s pension systems have “over $300 million invested in Israel Bonds and Israeli Assets.”
The second order, Executive Order 61, directs the commissioner of the New York City Police Department to work with the city’s Law Department to review existing federal, state, and local laws governing demonstrations and large gatherings, and to evaluate new proposals to regulate protest activity near houses of worship.
“We are proud to sign an executive order to evaluate additional ways to ensure New Yorkers’ right to peacefully and safely practice their religion at houses of worship, while protecting the First Amendment rights to protest, to which all Americans are entitled,” Adams said.
