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New York City Mayor Signs Executive Order Adopting IHRA Definition of Antisemitism
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an “October 7: One Year Later” commemoration to mark the anniversary of the Hamas-led attack in Israel at the Summer Stage in Central Park on October 7, 2024, in New York City. Photo: Ron Adar/ SOPA Images via Reuters Connect
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has signed an executive order which adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, enacting a policy major civil rights groups have said is essential for fighting an epidemic of anti-Jewish hatred sweeping across the US.
“Antisemitism is a vile disease that’s been spreading across our nation and our city. What’s worse, since Hamas’s terror attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, we have seen this hateful rhetoric become normalized on our campuses, in our communities, and online as antisemitic propaganda far too often masquerades as activism,” Adams said on Sunday, announcing the action at the Tribeca Synagogue in Manhattan. “When Jewish New Yorkers make up 11 percent of the population but more than half of all hate crimes, we know this moment demands bold, decisive action to crack down on anti-Jewish hatred.”
He continued, “We must go further. I am calling on the City Council to join this commitment to target antisemitism everywhere it exists and immediately pass a bill to codify this definition into law. It’s time we all come together to eradicate this hatred from our city, once and for all.”
IHRA — an intergovernmental organization comprising dozens of countries including the US and Israel — adopted the “working definition” of antisemitism in 2016. Since then, the definition has been widely accepted by Jewish groups and lawmakers across the political spectrum, and it is now used by hundreds of governing institutions, including the US State Department, European Union, and United Nations.
According to the definition, antisemitism “is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.” It provides 11 specific, contemporary examples of antisemitism in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere. Beyond classic antisemitic behavior associated with the likes of the medieval period and Nazi Germany, the examples include denial of the Holocaust and newer forms of antisemitism targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state, denying its right to exist, and holding it to standards not expected of any other democratic state.
New York City’s embrace of the definition comes amid a historic surge in antisemitic incidents.
In 2024, as reported by the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) latest annual audit, there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents — an average of 25.6 a day — across the US, creating an atmosphere of hate not experienced in the nearly thirty years since the ADL began tracking such data in 1979. Incidents of harassment, vandalism, and assault all increased by double digits, and for the first time ever a majority of outrages — 58 percent — were related to the existence of Israel as the world’s only Jewish state.
The ADL also reported dramatic rises in incidents on college campuses, which saw the largest growth in 2024. The 1,694 incidents tallied by the ADL amounted to an 84 percent increase over the previous year. Additionally, antisemites were emboldened to commit more offenses in public in 2024 than they did in 2023, perpetrating 19 percent more attacks on Jewish people, pro-Israel demonstrators, and businesses perceived as being Jewish-owned or affiliated with Jews.
New York State alone had the second most antisemitic incidents in the country with 1,437, an 18 percent increase from the previous year which led the nation. Meanwhile, in March of this year, Jews in New York City became victims of more hate crimes than any other group even as crime across the Five Boroughs fell to ‘historic’ lows.
Jews constituted a disproportionate share of hate crimes perpetrated in New York City in 2024 as well. Of the 641 total hate crimes tallied by the New York City Police Department that year, Jews were victims of 345, which, in addition to being a 7 percent increase over the previous year, amounted to 54 percent of all hate crimes in the city.
During the first quarter of 2025, according to the NYPD, 62 percent of hate crimes were antisemitic.
Adams took the first step towards addressing the issue in May when it launched the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, which will oversee an inter-agency task force assigned with monitoring the city’s approach to antisemitism at every level of government. The effort is “the first of its kind in a major city across the nation,” Adams said last month.
On Sunday, he was commended for following up the announcement by adopting the IHRA definition.
“Antisemitic incidents on US soil are at unprecedented levels — the highest in our lifetime,” said Kenneth Marcus, co-founder of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law who previously served as assistant civil rights secretary in the US Education Department. “IHRA provides a clear framework for law enforcement, educations, and all local officials to properly identify and address antisemitism in all its forms. Mayor Adams’ example should be followed nationwide. Every city and state must follow Mayor Adams’ lead to confront this ugly and dangerous resurgence in Jew-hatred.”
Josh Kramer, regional director of the American Jewish Committee, added, “New York City joins a growing number of governments and institutions committed to fighting antisemitism and safeguarding Jewish communities. With approximately one in ten New York residents being Jewish, and with the largest Jewish community outside of Israel, it is vital that we maintain an environment where all communities are treated with dignity and respect. Adopting the IHRA definition is an important tool to ensuring New York remains a safe and inclusive place for all its residents, including the Jewish community.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post New York City Mayor Signs Executive Order Adopting IHRA Definition of Antisemitism first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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US Independent Director Jim Jarmusch Proves Surprise Venice Winner
Jim Jarmusch receives the Golden Lion for Best Film for “Father Mother Sister Brother” during the closing ceremony of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yara Nardi
US indie director Jim Jarmusch unexpectedly won the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday with “Father Mother Sister Brother,” a three-part meditation on the uneasy ties between parents and their adult children.
Although his gentle comedy received largely positive reviews, it had not been a favorite for the top prize, with many critics instead tipping “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” a harrowing true-life account of the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl during the Gaza war.
In the end, the film directed by Tunisia’s Kaouther Ben Hania took the runner-up Silver Lion.
Divided into chapters set in New Jersey, Dublin and Paris, “Father Mother Sister Brother” features an ensemble cast including Tom Waits, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat.
Each installment drifts gently through domestic encounters where nothing much happens, but small gestures and silences sketch out the generational awkwardness that can beset families.
“All of us here who make films, we’re not motivated by competition. But this is something I truly appreciate, this unexpected honor,” said Jarmusch, who made his name in the 1980s with offbeat, low-budget works such as “Down by Law.”
In other categories, Italy’s Toni Servillo was named best actor for his wry portrayal of a weary president nearing the end of his mandate in “La Grazia,” directed by his long-time collaborator Paolo Sorrentino.
China’s Xin Zhilei won best actress for her role in “The Sun Rises On Us All,” a drama directed by Cai Shangjun that delves into questions of sacrifice, guilt and unresolved feelings between estranged lovers who share a dark secret.
The Venice festival marks the start of the awards season and regularly throws up big favorites for the Oscars, with films premiering here over the past four years collecting more than 90 Oscar nominations and winning almost 20.
GAZA TO THE FORE
Venice has often been seen as the most glamorous and least political of the major film festivals, but in 2025 the movies that made the strongest impact focused on current events, with the ongoing Israeli invasion of Gaza casting a long shadow.
As he unveiled his own picture last weekend, Jarmusch acknowledged that he was concerned that one of his main distributors had taken money from a company with ties to the Israeli military.
“The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which uses the real audio of a young girl’s desperate pleas for help as her car comes under Israeli gunfire, was the fan favorite, winning a record 24-minute standing ovation at its premiere.
“Cinema cannot bring Hind back, nor can it erase the atrocity committed against her. Nothing can ever restore what was taken, but cinema can preserve her voice, make it resonate across borders,” Ben Hania said on Saturday night.
“Her voice will continue to echo until accountability is real, until justice is served.”
The best director nod went to Benny Safdie for “The Smashing Machine,” which starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the role of the real-life mixed martial arts pioneer Mark Kerr.
“To be here amongst the giants of the past and the giants here this year, it just blows my mind,” said Safdie, who has previously co-directed films with his brother Josh.
The special jury award went to Italy’s Gianfranco Rosi for his black-and-white documentary “Below the Clouds,” about life in the chaotic southern city of Naples, marked by repeated earthquakes and the threat of volcanic eruptions.
Among the movies that left Venice empty-handed were a trio of Netflix pictures, Kathryn Bigelow’s nuclear thriller “A House of Dynamite,” Guillermo del Toro’s re-telling of “Frankenstein,” and Noah Baumbach’s comedy-drama “Jay Kelly.”
“No Other Choice” by South Korea’s Park Chan-wook also failed to secure an award, despite strong reviews, likewise “Bugonia” by Yorgos Lanthimos, which starred Emma Stone.
The main jury was chaired by US director Alexander Payne, joined by fellow filmmakers Stéphane Brizé, Maura Delpero, Cristian Mungiu and Mohammad Rasoulof, alongside actresses Fernanda Torres and Zhao Tao.
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Almost 900 People Were Arrested at London Palestine Action Protest, Police Say
Demonstrators attend the “Lift The Ban” rally organised by Defend Our Juries, challenging the British government’s proscription of “Palestine Action” under anti-terrorism laws, in Parliament Square, in London, Britain, September 6, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
British police said on Sunday they had arrested almost 900 people at a demonstration the previous day in support of Palestine Action, and the government appealed for people to stop demonstrating in support of the banned campaign group.
Britain proscribed Palestine Action under anti-terrorism legislation in July after some of its members broke into a Royal Air Force base and damaged military planes.
That followed vandalism and incidents targeting defense firms in Britain with links to Israel. The group accuses Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government of complicity in what it says are Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestine Action supporters have since been arrested at demonstrations, many of them over the age of 60. London police said 890 had been held following a protest near parliament in central London on Saturday, the highest number of detentions from a single such protest to date.
Of those, 857 were detained for showing support for a banned group, while 17 were arrested for assaults on officers after police said the protest turned violent.
“The violence we encountered during the operation was coordinated and carried out by a group of people … intent on creating as much disorder as possible,” said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Claire Smart.
The protest organizers, a group called Defend Our Juries, said that among those arrested were priests, war veterans and healthcare workers, and that they included many elderly and some disabled.
“These mass acts of defiance will continue until the ban is lifted,” a spokesperson said.
Palestine Action’s proscription puts the group alongside al Qaeda and Islamic State, making it a crime to support or belong to the organization, punishable by up to 14 years in prison.
Human rights groups have criticized the ban as disproportionate and say it limits the freedom of expression of peaceful protesters.
Defense minister John Healey said the firm action was needed to counter accusations by right-wing critics of “a two-tier policing and justice system.”
“Almost everyone shares the agony when we see the images from Gaza … and for people who want to voice their concern and protest, I applaud them,” he told Sky News. “But that does not require them to link it to support for Palestine Action, a proscribed group.”
Many of those arrested in recent weeks are released on police bail, and it was unclear how many were still in detention.
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Witkoff Reportedly Conveys Principals for Ceasefire Proposal to Hamas
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – United States (US) Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff conveyed a message to Hamas behind the scenes regarding the conditions for negotiations — involving freeing the 48 remaining hostages in exchange for ending the war — Israeli media reported Sunday morning.
Witkoff’s message was relayed to Hamas through Israeli activist Gershon Baskin, who had also helped broker messages in the 2011 Gilad Shalit negotiations, a source told Israeli reporter Barak Ravid. He delivered the message through senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad.
The proposal included several general principles in addition to the release of all the hostages in exchange for ending the war, Ravid reported.
i24NEWS correspondent Guy Azriel reported that Israel is not responding to reports of the document of principles, saying, “This is a matter of correspondence between the Americans and Hamas.” The only message from Jerusalem at this stage remains, “We are adhering to the five conditions that the cabinet voted on to end the war.”
Meanwhile, Hamas released a statement Saturday evening expressing their readiness for a ceasefire agreement, saying, “We renew our commitment and adherence to the agreement we announced together with the Palestinian factions regarding the mediators’ proposal for a ceasefire on August 18.”
The annnouncment included their willingness to agree to a ceasefire under conditions including the withdrawl of Israeli forces and release of the hostages, but did not meet Israel’s conditions for ending the war which include the full disarmament of Hamas, demilitarization of the Strip, and Israeli security control over Gaza.
“We emphasize our openness to any ideas or proposals that would achieve a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of the occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the unconditional entry of aid, and genuine prisoner exchanges through serious negotiations mediated by intermediaries,” Hamas added.