Jewish students in New York City are voicing apprehension following Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent decision to repeal an executive order that aligned the city’s definition of antisemitism with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The IHRA’s definition characterizes antisemitism as “hatred toward Jews.”

In interviews with Fox News Digital, students from New York University and Columbia University described the revocation as “terrifying.” They expressed concerns that the absence of this order could trigger an uptick in protests and affect the behavior of professors and students across NYC college campuses.

Mera Skoblo, a student at NYU, told Fox News Digital, “There’s a reason why the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism is widely recognized as the gold standard. Removing it on the first day, along with other protective executive orders, essentially invites the resurgence of protests.” She emphasized the importance of these safeguards for Jewish students, stating, “Taking away these protective measures feels like a direct move against our safety.”

“It feels like an attack,” Skoblo added.

Following Mayor Mamdani’s revocation of the executive order that adopted the IHRA antisemitism standard, concerns have been raised by Jewish students. They warn that this change could embolden campus activists and potentially amplify antisemitic rhetoric at universities across New York City.

NYU faced some of the most intense protests, which included a Dec. 12, 2024, demonstration outside the university’s library during which protesters called for an “intifada revolution” and asserted that Tel Aviv is “stolen land.”

Former mayor Eric Adams first signed the executive order tying the city’s definition of antisemitism to that of the IHRA. Mamdani rescinded the adoption on Jan. 1, his first day serving as mayor.

“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews,” the IHRA definition reads. “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.”

Protest stickers were put on the doors at Butler Library at Columbia University’s campus on May 7, 2025 in New York City. Pro-Palestinian protesters held a demonstration inside the Butler Library on Columbia University’s campus, disrupting finals week. ( Indy Scholtens/Getty Images)

As for Columbia University, the Upper West Side, Ivy League school faced some of the most intense protests in the country in the years since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.

“The pro-Palestinian rhetoric that has really taken hold on my campus will just [be emboldened by Mamdani’s] rhetoric and just inflame the campus and the campus political stance,” Columbia University student Galia Labowitz explained. “I honestly am terrified of what this year has to come.”

Labowitz also pointed to systemic antisemitism rooted in professors who potentially supported Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. 

“I’ve had professors that have canceled class because of protests or encouraged students to go and participate in these protests,” Labowitz said. “Obviously it’s made me very uncomfortable, and it’s really discouraged me from speaking up in class or being able to be very proud of my Jewish identity and my Zionist identity.

Police intervene and arrest more than 100 students at New York University in support of students at Columbia University and to oppose Israel’s attacks on Gaza. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“I absolutely think that these professors that encourage this antisemitic rhetoric are deeply troubling and honestly very isolating,” Labowitz added.

In April 2024, Columbia University’s East Butler Lawn was taken over by an encampment involving hundreds of students and non-students who chanted “from the river to the sea” while calling for an end to the war in the Middle East and criticizing Israel and its citizens.

In May 2025, demonstrators occupied Butler Library and informally designated it as “Basel Al-Araj Popular University.”

The various protests at Columbia University resulted in hundreds of arrests and student disciplinary actions from the Ivy League school.

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani, NYU and Columbia University but did not receive responses in time for publication.