The decision by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to cancel a series of executive orders related to Israel and the fight against antisemitism is causing deep concern among American Jews, and Israel is concerned as well.
A Shas source who spoke with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News explained that Mamdani is creating a narrative that diminishes Jewish legitimacy.
"When the mayor of New York cancels a definition that identifies denial of the Jewish right to a state as antisemitism, the message is clear: The battle is no longer over territories, not over policy, not over [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. The battle is over the Jewish right itself. Mamdani is not only canceling his predecessor’s policy, he is shifting the red line from criticism of a government to a question of Jewish legitimacy," the source told Arutz Sheva.
Mamdani used his authority to revoke the orders signed by his predecessor, Eric Adams. Among the orders that were revoked: a directive that expanded the definition of antisemitism to align with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition, and another order that prohibited city employees and its agencies from boycotting Israel or divesting from it.
According to the source in the Shas party, "This narrative is seeping into additional countries that are trying to educate Israel according to a 'proper Jewish look,' while repeatedly claiming that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza."
In his remarks, he cited another example of the adoption of the narrative. "Thus, too, the Armenian lobby organization in the United States, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), stated in its tweet that the policy of the Government of Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu stands, in its words, in contradiction to 'Jewish traditions, spiritual and secular.'"
"The tweet claims that Israel denies the Armenian genocide, provides security assistance to Azerbaijan, and endangers the Armenian Christian Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem. Alongside it was published a photo of Prime Minister Netanyahu with a caption defining him as hostile to Armenian Christians."
"Political struggles should be conducted between governments and parliaments, not by attributing positions to the Jewish people and to its tradition," the source told Arutz Sheva. "The moment Judaism itself is brought into the argument, it is no longer a political debate but a message that may roll into antisemitism on the ground."
"Criticism of Israel in the name of Jewish values creates a reality in which Jewish communities around the world pay the price for conflicts that are not related to them. It is time to stop turning Israel into a constant target for attacks in international arenas, especially when they are wrapped in religious language."
ANCA’s attack follows a legislative initiative advancing in the US Congress, bill H.R. 6534, led by Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, which seeks to remove restrictions previously set under Section 907 of the US aid law. These 30-year-old restrictions limit the provision of security assistance to Azerbaijan. ANCA opposes the proposal and is conducting a public campaign against it, alongside promoting an alternative legislative initiative that seeks to impose stricter conditions on any future assistance to Baku.
Due to the longtime close security ties between Israel and Azerbaijan, Israel is also being incorporated into the campaign conducted by the ANCA. Luna, a Christian, is known as an enthusiastic supporter of Israel. In responses, ANCA supporters accuse her of being a Zionist Jew who wants the genocide of the Armenian nation, just like Israel has done in Gaza.