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Thursday, February 5, 2026
US Senate committee probes Mamdani for revoking IHRA definition of antisemitism
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A US Senate committee announces a probe into New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s revocation of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
Mamdani revoked City Hall’s use of the definition, which covers some forms of criticism of Israel, on his first day in office, as well as an order that barred city agencies from boycotting Israel.
US Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and chair of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, announces a letter to Mamdani over the revocations.
“This definition has long held strong bipartisan support and has been the official policy of the federal government since 2019,” Cassidy says in a statement.
The letter to Mamdani asks how revoking the definition and the anti-boycott order will help to protect Jewish students, if City Hall will adopt a new definition of antisemitism, what tangible actions the Mamdani administration will take to oppose antisemitism in schools, and whether he believes the boycott campaign against Israel is antisemitic.
“It is my job to ensure every student feels safe, and at a time when Jewish students feel scared, I am concerned your actions will only exacerbate their fears,” Cassidy writes in the letter to Mamdani.
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