Israel’s Stinging Retort to Mamdani Was Meant as Retaliation in Kind

News AnalysisAfter Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York scrapped two executive orders on antisemitism and boycotts, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued an aggressive response to what it saw as an aggressive act.Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York has long supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.Credit...Ryan Murphy for The New York TimesJan. 5, 2026, 11:51 a.m. ETThe Israeli Foreign Ministry minced no words in responding to Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York, who, in one of his first official acts, rescinded two of his predecessor’s executive orders that had been billed as fighting antisemitism and demonstrating support for Israel.“On his very first day,” the ministry wrote on social media on Friday, “Mamdani shows his true face,” noting that the mayor had scrapped a definition of antisemitism and lifted restrictions on boycotting Israel.“This isn’t leadership,” the ministry added. “It’s antisemitic gasoline on an open fire.”Mr. Mamdani rescinded other orders, not just those two, but while others were reissued — including one that established a city office to fight antisemitism — the ones on the antisemitism definition and on boycotting Israel were left erased from the books.That was enough for the Israeli government to lash out.Israel has become quick to take offense when it feels political leaders are demonstrating insensitivity to Jews or are failing to protect them — even more so after last month’s Bondi beach massacre in Sydney, Australia.In the hours after that attack, in which two gunmen killed 15 people at a Hanukkah celebration, the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Saar, took issue with an initial statement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia expressing shock and distress over the killings.Writing on social media, Mr. Saar noted three words that did not appear in Mr. Albanese’s statement: “Jews. Antisemitism. Terror.”And when Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, added his own “thoughts and condolences to everyone affected,” Mr. Saar replied: “Distinguished PM, the terror attack targeted Jews.”ImagePrime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia during a memorial last month for victims of the Bondi Beach attack.Credit...Matthew Abbott for The New York TimesVeteran Israeli diplomats and analysts said that the Israeli government of late had been responding harshly to anything seen as undermining vigilance against antisemitism or eroding the security of Jewish communities.“The tone in general has been much less diplomatic than it used to be,” said Emmanuel Navon, a foreign-policy analyst and lecturer at Tel Aviv University.There has been no shortage of material for Israeli officials and others concerned about antisemitism to address. Since the Hamas-led massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023, and throughout Israel’s war in Gaza, antisemitic attacks have soared worldwide, even as Israel has become sharply isolated on the international stage for its prosecution of that war.Against that backdrop, Mr. Mamdani’s decision to undo former Mayor Eric Adams’s embrace of the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s definition of antisemitism landed as an expression of objectionable priorities, as did his reversal of Mr. Adams’s ban on city agencies participating in boycotts of Israel. Mr. Mamdani has long supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.The mayor rescinded every order Mr. Adams had issued since his indictment in September 2024, attempting to frame his action as a matter of good governance. A spokeswoman for Mr. Mamdani said that the decision to rescind the Adams orders had been deliberated over for months. Mr. Mamdani called the move necessary to restore the public’s trust in the office of the mayor after Mr. Adams’s indictment.The Israeli government was not persuaded.“The question is not why the Foreign Ministry chose to respond so quickly,” Oren Marmorstein, the ministry’s chief spokesman, said in an interview. “The real question is why Mamdani on his first day chose to repeal the I.H.R.A. definition of antisemitism and to cancel the anti-B.D.S. regulation.”“This is his top priority,” Mr Marmorstein added. “This is a decision to deliberately send a very negative message regarding antisemitism on your very first day.”Particularly in the wake of the Bondi beach massacre, Mr. Marmorstein noted, Mr. Mamdani’s moves constituted an aggressive act that warranted an aggressive response.ImageA memorial at Yeshiva University in New York for the victims of the Bondi beach massacre. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis and throughout Israel’s war in Gaza, antisemitic attacks have soared worldwide.Credit...Dave Sanders for The New York Times“Antisemitism is on the rise, Jews are feeling intimidated, and they are being attacked,” Mr. Marmorstein said. “So what are you doing here?”“As a leader, as someone people are looking up to, you’re sending a very wrong message,” he added.⁠The International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s definition of antisemitism cites seven types of Israel-related speech that it says crosses into antisemitic territory. Those include accusing Jews or Israel of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust; accusing Jews of being more loyal to Israel than to their own countries; denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, such as by saying that Israel’s mere existence is racist; and holding Israel to a higher standard of conduct than is demanded of other democratic nations. Other examples include comparing Israeli policy to that of the Nazis, and holding Jews collectively responsible for Israel’s actions.Dozens of countries have endorsed or adopted the definition to varying degrees, as have many major cities, including Barcelona, Berlin, London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and, in the United States, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Washington.But critics of the definition contend that it is overly expansive and is being used to police speech by those who equate criticism of Israel with hatred of Jews.Indeed, while the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s post drew considerable attention online, with 4.2 million views as of Sunday night, much of that attention was negative, accusing Israel of seeking to impinge on Americans’ freedom of speech.Notably absent among the Israelis denouncing Mr. Mamdani’s New Year’s Day moves was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr. Mamdani has said that he would like the New York Police Department to enforce an arrest warrant against Mr. Netanyahu, who has been accused of war crimes by the International Criminal Court.ImagePrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel visited Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Dec. 29. Mr. Mamdani has said that he would like the New York Police Department to enforce an arrest warrant against Mr. Netanyahu.Credit...Tierney L. Cross/The New York TimesAccording to an Israeli official briefed on the matter, the government’s strategy is for the Foreign Ministry, not the prime minister, to respond and in that way avoid exaggerating Mr. Mamdani’s importance. Otherwise, the Israeli government plans to wait and see how Mr. Mamdani’s administration addresses antisemitism and matters involving Israel going forward, according to the official, who requested anonymity to discuss private deliberations.That resembles the approach taken by a coalition of American Jewish groups in addressing Mr. Mamdani’s two executive-order rollbacks. Those groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York, faulted the mayor for reversing some protections against antisemitism, while also “welcoming” his continuation of other protections. The groups added that they would be “looking for clear and sustained leadership” in the fight against antisemitism.Theodore Sasson, a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said the group’s response was a “far cry” from that of the Foreign Ministry. But he added that Israeli officials were often less sensitive to charges that they “weaponize” allegations of antisemitism to shut down criticism of Israel than were American Jewish leaders, who he said generally defended the right to criticize Israel but not to deny its right to exist.“There’s a difference in tone, and there’s a difference in the willingness to describe Mamdani as an antisemite,” Mr. Sasson said. “And that reflects a broader pattern under this government, of using the charge of antisemitism with the intention and effect of chilling criticism of Israel.”ImageMr. Mamdani, center, holding a candle during a vigil in October in New York’s Union Square to mourn those killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.Credit...Dave Sanders for The New York TimesThe Israeli Foreign Ministry has also leveled accusations of antisemitism at municipal officials outside New York. It has feuded particularly acrimoniously with Ireland since that country recognized Palestinian statehood and threw its support behind South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over the conduct of the war in Gaza. In December 2024, Israel said it would close its embassy in Dublin.Then, in November, after Dublin announced it would rename Chaim Herzog Park — which since 1995 has borne the name of Israel’s sixth president, who was largely raised in the Irish capital — Mr. Saar assailed the move. “Dublin has become the capital of antisemitism in the world,” he wrote on social media. “The Irish antisemitic and anti-Israeli obsession is sickening.”Dublin dropped the proposal to rename the park a few days later.David M. Halbfinger is the Jerusalem bureau chief, leading coverage of Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. He also held that post from 2017 to 2021. He was the Politics editor of The Times from 2021 to 2025.SKIP