New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday established the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, a mayoral office "dedicated to fighting antisemitism in all forms and keeping New Yorkers safe," according to his office. It is the first office of its kind established in a major city across the United States, the statement said.
Last year, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) reported that 54% of all hate crimes in New York City were against Jewish New Yorkers; during the first quarter of 2025, that number rose to 62%..
This new mayoral office announced that it would immediately establish an inter-agency taskforce dedicated to "fighting antisemitism in all its forms, including by monitoring court cases and outcomes at all levels of the justice system, liaising with the New York City Law Department on appropriate cases to bring or join, advising on executive orders to issue and legislation to propose to address antisemitism, and working across agencies to ensure New Yorkers feel protected against antisemitism and address incidents of antisemitism."
The office will "work to ensure city-funded entities and city agencies do not permit different forms of antisemitism," according to the statement.
Adams appointed Moshe Davis as the first executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism. Davis joined the Adams administration in November 2022 as Jewish liaison in the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs, working to connect the city's nearly 1 million Jewish residents to municipal government while communicating administration priorities and managing the mayor's Jewish Advisory Council.
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Prior to joining the Mayor's Office, Davis served as a rabbinic leader at the Manhattan Jewish Experience, where he created faith-based programs for young professionals on the Upper West Side. Davis also founded “New York Jews in Politics,” a network of Jewish professionals working across government, advocacy, and nonprofit sectors .He will report directly to First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro.
"Combating antisemitism requires a sledgehammer approach: coordinated, unapologetic, and immediate.” Davis said. "Mayor Adams has been a modern-day Maccabee, standing up for the Jewish community, and, with the establishment of this office, he is strengthening his resolve to ensure Jewish New Yorkers thrive in our city. I look forward to working closely with Mayor Eric Adams and First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro to continue our forceful response against anti-Jewish hate and discrimination."
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Anti-Israel demonstration at Columbia University in New York
(Photo: Yuki Iwamura / AP)
Davis announced that his first action will be to form a commission of Jewish leaders from across New York City to oversee and advise on the office’s work.
“Since day one, our administration made a commitment to all New Yorkers to keep them safe and protect against hate in all forms. 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. “The Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism will be the first of its kind in a major city across the nation, and will tackle antisemitism in all of its forms, working across city agencies to ensure Jewish New Yorkers are protected and can thrive here in the five boroughs. 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..”
Antisemitic incidents in the United States surged to a record high in 2024 for the fourth year in a row, with over 9,300 cases of assault, harassment and vandalism recorded, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported last month. New York saw the highest numbers, with 1,437 incidents recorded. according to the ADL.