New Jersey councilwoman to Zohran Mamdani: You are the mayor – act like it!

A New Jersey councilwoman has sharply criticized New York City Mayor Eric Adams, accusing him of fueling an antisemitism crisis and undermining the safety of Jewish constituents. In a strongly worded opinion piece, the councilwoman stated that Adams's first act as mayor, revoking the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism and an order to protect Jewish residents, was a political misstep that endangered the community.

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You played politics with your constituents lives and safety by revoking the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

"You played politics with your constituents lives and safety by revoking the IHRA definition of antisemitism," the councilwoman wrote. She questioned Adams's decision to revoke an order directing the NYPD and Law Department to enhance protections for individuals attending religious services. This action, she argued, occurred despite rising antisemitic incidents, including protestors chanting "we are Hamas" and harassment of Jews in public.

The councilwoman contrasted Adams's approach with that of his predecessor, Michael Pagan, whom she praised for apologizing on his first day as mayor after a controversial vote. She highlighted Pagan's acknowledgment of harming a colleague and the community as an example of leadership. "That is leadership," she stated, implying Adams's actions demonstrated the opposite.

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That is leadership.

She contended that Adams's decision made it easier for antisemites to target Jews by using terms like "Zionist" interchangeably with "Jew" to confuse the issue of antisemitism. "Your first act as mayor gave progressive Nazis exactly what they wanted, permission to target Jews while escaping the one label society only knows how to condemn when the Nazi happens to be on the right," she asserted. The councilwoman concluded that Adams's ideological priorities outweighed the clear warnings of danger to the Jewish community.

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Your first act as mayor gave progressive Nazis exactly what they wanted, permission to target Jews while escaping the one label society only knows how to condemn when the Nazi happens to be on the right.