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Mayor Adams announces new NYC office to combat antisemitism
By
Arun Venugopal
Published May 13, 2025
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Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By
Arun Venugopal
Published May 13, 2025
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Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday he’s establishing a new office devoted to combating antisemitism across the five boroughs, calling it “the first of its kind in a major city across the nation.”
The creation of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, announced at a press conference, follows a sharp rise in anti-Jewish hate incidents. The office will be led by Moshe Davis, a City Hall staffer who has served in the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs.
“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,” Adams said, noting that the city has “the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.”
“As we continue to see the rising tide of antisemitism here at home, and across the country, this moment calls for decisive action,” Adams said.
There were 345 anti-Jewish hate incidents in 2024, according to the NYPD, accounting for nearly 54% of all hate crimes recorded by the department, and up 7% from 2023 levels. In the first quarter of 2025, anti-Jewish incidents accounted for 62% of all hate crimes, according to a press release from the city.
The rise in antisemitic incidents follows the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel, and continuing violence in Gaza. Adams has been critical of pro-Palestinian student protesters at Columbia University, saying earlier this month that “we will not tolerate hate or violence in any form in our city.”
Adams has also defended the rights of protesters. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday if being pro-Palestinian equates to antisemitism, the mayor said, “ this is a country of free speech.”
“ Being pro-Palestine doesn't make you anti-something,” Adams said. “People have their opinions and I don't agree with opinions, but I respect the fact that we all have different opinions.”
The new office will also help establish an interagency task force to monitor court cases and coordinate with the city’s law department on “appropriate cases” to join, according to the mayor’s office, and “work to ensure city-funded entities and city agencies do not permit different forms of antisemitism.” It will also advise on legislation needed to address antisemitism.
Adams did not make clear in his remarks how the work of the newly created office will differ from that of the New York City Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. Last year, the OPHC’s director, Hassan Naveed, was terminated from his post, prompting complaints of Islamophobia, before the appointment of his successor, Vijay Ramjattan.
Davis has previously served as a rabbinic leader at the Manhattan Jewish Experience, according to a release, and founded a networking group, New York Jews in Politics.
"Combating antisemitism requires a sledgehammer approach: coordinated, unapologetic and immediate,” Davis in a statement.
Tagged
new york city
hate crime
Race And Justice Unit
Politics
eric adams
Arun Venugopal
Arun Venugopal is a senior reporter for the WNYC and Gothamist Race & Justice Unit who focuses on issues of race and bias in our region. His reporting also tackles the topics of immigration, faith, and inequality. Arun serves as the regular fill-in host of the station's "U.S. of Anxiety" program. Arun was the creator and host of Micropolis, a series about race and identity. He is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently serves as an emcee and moderator of panel discussions on race, religion, and identity issues and has been a guest host of NPR's "Fresh Air." He lives with his family in Queens.
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