RSS
NYC Mayor’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism Holds First Meeting With Reps From Nearly All City Agencies

The Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, led by Moshe Davis, held its first meeting on July 17, 2025, at City Hall in New York City. Photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s interagency task force to combat antisemitism held its inaugural meeting on Thursday at City Hall in Manhattan.
Adams signed Executive Order 51 in May that created the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, the first office of its kind in a major city in the US. Moshe Davis is the executive director of the mayoral office and is also the head of the interagency task force. The task force’s main partners include the New York Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force, Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes, and New York City Commission on Human Rights.
Representatives from nearly all New York City agencies attended the task force’s first meeting on Thursday, including members from the departments and offices of sanitation, education, family justice, environmental protection, small business services, health and mental hygiene, and correction. There were also representatives from the Fire Department and City Parks, and the Jewish community’s liaison for the city’s Commission on Human Rights attended as well.
During the meeting, the group collaborated and discussed ways to tackle antisemitism as it relates to their various fields, for example antisemitic crimes targeting small businesses, ensuring street entrances to synagogues are safe with the help of the Department of Transportation, and responding to hate crimes happening in parks such as antisemitic swastika graffiti. Around 4 percent of antisemitic hate crimes take place in the city’s parks, according to Davis.
“Our agencies are really excited to be doing this work,” Davis said. “They are saying, ‘Hey if there is a problem, we want to be a part of the solution. We are in. We want to do this.’ And there is really a diverse group of people.”
The Algemeiner sat in for the meeting’s opening remarks, but then members of the press were ushered out so representatives from the city agencies could speak openly and privately.
“We are all here to make sure that we become a shining example in city government of what to do, of what not to do, and of what will be tolerated,” First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro said at the start of the meeting. “We are a city that welcomes diversity – diversity of race, background, socio-economic status … [we have to make sure] that our brothers and sisters in every religious community feel embraced and safe … we will be a better city. A city with a bigger heart.”
After the meeting, Davis told The Algemeiner that similar meetings with all members of the task force will take place in-person at least quarterly, but he will also meet one-on-one with task force members and teams on a regular basis.
Davis shared that during the meeting, attendees discussed the mission of the task force, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism – which New York City adopted in June – antisemitism training, how to keep synagogues safe, and other similar topics. He said the group also talked at length about specific measures that can be taken to combat antisemitism in “hot spots” throughout New York – most notably the Brooklyn areas of Crown Heights, Williamsburg and Midwood – where there are large Jewish populations and have been a number of recent hate crimes targeting Jews. Davis said the task force is focused on addressing antisemitism in these communities.
“Antisemitism is a pervasive, ugly disease that has sadly infiltrated so many sectors of our city, but we will never allow that to stand unanswered under our administration,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement shared with The Algemeiner. “Today, we continue to tackle this crisis head on by rooting out hateful rhetoric and ensuring it has no place in even the most remote corners of our city government. From schools to sanitation to police, our administration will never allow antisemitism — or any other form of hate — to persist. We will continue to build a future in which every New Yorker can live without any fear of hatred.”
After creating the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism in May, Adams signed Executive Order No. 52 in June officially recognizing the IHRA definition of antisemitism and encouraging all city agencies to use it as a tool to help identify and response to antisemitic behavior in New York.
The city’s mayoral election is in November, and Adams — a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community – is running for another term as an independent. New York City Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a staunch advocate of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and a fierce critic of the Jewish state, won the Democratic Party primary in June and is a frontrunner to win the general election.
Adams did not attend the task force meeting on Thursday and instead showed face at a reelection rally that took place outside City Hall at the same time. During the start of the meeting, participants could hear rally goers chanting “four more years” outside the building.
Davis told press on Thursday that any future administration that wants to disband the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism would need to create an executive order to rescind Executive Order 51.
Many Jewish community members have expressed concern that antisemitism might increase under Mandani if he is elected in November because of his anti-Israel views. The Algemeiner asked Mastro about those concerns on Thursday, and in his response, he turned the focus to Adams, describing him as a uniter. “This mayor unites. He brings people from all races, background and faiths together,” Mastro said. “He stands up for all of that.”
Earlier this month, Mastro sent a letter to New York City Comptroller Brad Lander demanding documentation that explains the latter’s decision to withdraw tens of millions of dollars in city pension funds from bonds issued by Israel. Mastro’s deadline for Lander was Thursday. The deputy mayor told The Algemeiner he has yet to receive the requested documentation and does not expect to. He also hinted that he might be pursing legal action against the comptroller.
Lander “made a conscious decision to allow investments in Israel Bonds to run their course and not reinvest at all,” Mastro said. “He is the first comptroller in 50 years [ to do so]. But he said it’s not divesting … Today I do not expect to get any documentation from the comptroller … In the bond portfolio, Israel Bonds have performed better than the rest of the bonds. So why would you get rid of Israel Bonds? You have a fiduciary duty to maximum the return for the city … and certainly you have an obligation to provide documentation to show how this decision was made.”
The post NYC Mayor’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism Holds First Meeting With Reps From Nearly All City Agencies first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.