Candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Democratic New York City mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York, US. Photo: Yuki Iwamura/Pool via REUTERS

If Zohran Mamdani becomes the mayor of New York City, he may decide to implement Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction (BDS) measures against Israeli commercial companies and academic institutions.

This would be problematic for New York Governor Kathy Hochul, because New York State’s Office of General Services, Executive Order No. 157, directs State entities to “divest all public funds supporting the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.”

According to EO 157, boycott, divestment, and sanctions activities targeting Israel, “means to engage in any activity, or promote others to engage in any activity, that is intended to penalize, inflict economic harm on, or otherwise limit commercial relations with Israel or persons doing business in Israel for purposes of coercing political action by, or imposing policy positions on, the government of Israel.”

This Executive Order was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on June 5, 2016. EO 157 has been supported by Governor Hochul since she took office in 2021. The following statement confirms Governor Hochul’s support for EO 157:

Israel is a critical ally and invaluable economic partner to New York State. Early in my administration, I extended an Executive Order directing state government to divest public funds from companies and institutions engaging in Boycott, Divestment, or Sanctions that threaten the sovereignty and security of the State of Israel.

The BDS movement is based on four fundamental lies about Israel: 1) Israel is a settler-colonial regime; 2) apartheid is the law of Israel, as it was in South Africa between 1948 and 1994; 3) The entire state of Israel exists on occupied Palestinian land between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea; and 4) Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. 

Governor Hochul’s support of Zohran Mamdani in his campaign to become the 111th Mayor of New York City is an endorsement of a vocal supporter of the BDS movement. 

Mamdani has publicly advocated for BDS since 2014, when he was a student and founder of the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at his university — and his calls have only grown stronger since then.

In Mamdani’s own words: “My support for BDS is consistent with the core of my politics, which is nonviolence. And I think that it is a legitimate movement when you are seeking to find compliance with international law.”

If elected, would Mayor Mamdani’s support of the BDS movement trigger Governor’s Hochul’s use of EO 157?  This would have profound implications for all residents of New York City — not just those tied to Israel in some way.

If Mamdani actively uses his office to support boycotting Israel, and triggers EO 157, then the approximately $14 billion in financial aid projected to flow from Albany to New York City over the 2025-2026 budget cycle could be at risk. 

Perhaps the Governor would try and pressure the mayor to step back from his anti-Zionist positions and BDS rhetoric — or perhaps she will argue that NYC is simply too big to defund, and let Mamdani’s boycott go unchallenged. 

What is at stake for New York City if a determined supporter of the BDS movement is elected?  The mayor can do the following:

• Cancel the Declaration of Intent signed between the City of New York and Israel to develop and promote the New York City–Israel Economic Council that was signed by Mayor Adams on May 19, 2025. 
• Use the mayor’s platform of City Hall to demonize Israel. This will encourage the BDS movement to target Israeli owned businesses with commercial boycotts and vandalism.
• NYC pension funds have an estimated $300 million invested in obligations and equity of Israeli companies. While the comptroller of New York City has the authority to make investment decisions, the mayor can advocate for divestment and agitate the BDS supporters in his or her base to protest and demand divestment. Comptroller Brad Lander, who is an avid supporter of Zohran Mamdani, decided to let the Israeli government bond positions in the NYC pension fund run-off without replacing them in 2023. As of now, the pension funds do not own any Israeli government bonds. Comptroller Lander has defended this decision as being consistent with his office’s fiduciary duty and not an effort to put political pressure on Israel.

In her endorsement of Mamdani that was published in The New York Times, Governor Hochul does not mention his avid support of the BDS movement, his refusal to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, or his plan to disavow the City’s adoption of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. She only said, “We discussed the need to combat the rise of antisemitism urgently and unequivocally.”