Mayor Adams Establishes Office to Combat Antisemitism

Mayor Eric Adams announced the creation of the Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism, a new office that will focus on combating antisemitism across the five boroughs of New York City. The office, which will be led by Moshe Davis, comes as a response to a sharp rise in anti-Jewish hate incidents, with 345 such incidents reported in 2024, accounting for nearly 54% of all hate crimes recorded by the NYPD.

Key Takeaways:

The Mayor's Office to Combat Antisemitism is the first of its kind in a major city across the nation, aimed at combating antisemitism across the five boroughs of New York City.
The office will be led by Moshe Davis, a City Hall staffer who has served in the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs, and will work to establish an interagency task force to monitor court cases and coordinate with the city's law department on "appropriate cases" to join.
The rise in antisemitic incidents follows the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas against Israel, and continuing violence in Gaza.
Anti-Jewish hate incidents accounted for 62% of all hate crimes in the first quarter of 2025, according to a press release from the city.
Mayor Adams has been critical of pro-Palestinian student protesters at Columbia University, but also defended the rights of protesters, saying "this is a country of free speech."
The new office will also advise on legislation needed to address antisemitism and work to ensure city-funded entities and city agencies do not permit different forms of antisemitism.
Moshe Davis has previously served as a rabbinic leader at the Manhattan Jewish Experience and founded a networking group, New York Jews in Politics.

Statistics:

There were 345 anti-Jewish hate incidents in 2024.
Anti-Jewish hate incidents accounted for nearly 54% of all hate crimes recorded by the NYPD in 2024.
In the first quarter of 2025, anti-Jewish incidents accounted for 62% of all hate crimes, according to a press release from the city.

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