Two prominent business organizations in New York City have formed a new alliance to shield Jewish- and Israeli-affiliated companies from mounting anti-Zionist activism and policy reversals under Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
According to Newsmax, the New York-Israeli Chamber of Commerce Coalition, supported by the powerful New York State Chamber of Commerce, has joined forces with the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce to counter what they see as a growing climate of hostility toward firms tied to Israel. The coalitions leaders say their mission is to protect businesses from discrimination, sustain job creation, and defend the substantial economic footprint these companies maintain in the city.
Al Kinel, President of the coalition, warned that the citys economic foundations are being undermined by ideological politics and targeted activism. The free enterprise system that made New York City strong is at risk, Kinel told the Post, underscoring concerns that Mamdanis policy shifts are emboldening anti-Israel agitators and chilling investment.
Organizers of the coalition argue that rising anti-Zionist sentiment has coincided with increasingly unsafe conditions for both employees and customers at Jewish and Israeli-linked establishments. They contend that the alliance is a necessary response to a political environment that appears more sympathetic to boycotts and pressure campaigns than to the rights of law-abiding businesses and workers.
The initiative follows a series of sweeping reversals enacted by Mamdani, the citys first Muslim mayor and an outspoken critic of Israel, on his first day in office. He rescinded executive orders that had prohibited city officials from participating in boycotts or divestment efforts targeting Israel, effectively signaling that municipal leadership would no longer stand firmly against economic warfare aimed at a key U.S. ally.
Mamdani also withdrew New York Citys adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, a standard embraced by many Western governments and Jewish organizations. That definition, put in place under former Mayor Eric Adams, had been a cornerstone for distinguishing legitimate policy debate from bigotry, and its removal has alarmed Jewish leaders and civil rights advocates who see it as a retreat from moral clarity.
Coalition leaders maintain that these policy reversals have coincided with a surge in protests, vandalism, and intimidation directed at Jewish and Israeli businesses across the five boroughs. They point to reports of employees at Israeli-linked firms facing internal pressure campaigns, including demands that their companies sever ties with Israel, as evidence that political activism is spilling over into economic coercion.
The group notes that New York City is home to more than 670 Israeli-founded business establishments, including at least 20 companies valued at over $1 billion. Collectively, these firms provide tens of thousands of jobs and generate significant tax revenue, reinforcing the argument that targeting them for political reasons threatens not only a specific community but the broader economic health of the city.
For the coalition, defending these enterprises is about more than balance sheets; it is about preserving New Yorks status as a global economic hub that welcomes innovation and investment rather than punishing it. Leaders warn that if the city becomes known as a place where ideological litmus tests dictate who can do business, capital and talent will simply go elsewhere.
Guy Franklin, founder and chief executive officer of Israeli Mapped in NY, emphasized that Israeli tech firms are deeply woven into the citys innovation landscape. These companies aren't on the sidelines; they are an integral part of New York's tech ecosystem, Franklin told the Post, stressing that undermining them would weaken the citys competitive edge in technology and entrepreneurship.
Other coalition figures, including Heather Mulligan of The Business Council of New York State and Mark Jaffe of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, have similarly cautioned that economic discrimination driven by political agendas could stifle growth. They told the Post that such practices risk destabilizing the job market, discouraging future investment, and sending a dangerous message that New York is open to selective, ideologically motivated targeting of lawful businesses.
The business communitys mobilization comes amid broader local efforts to confront a documented rise in antisemitic incidents. City Council Speaker Julie Menin recently announced the creation of a task force to combat antisemitism, citing a troubling pattern of hate crimes and harassment aimed at Jewish New Yorkers that has left many residents feeling less secure in their own neighborhoods.
That task force is distinct from a city Office to Combat Antisemitism that Mamdani has yet to establish, despite earlier expectations that such an office would be a priority. The delay has fueled criticism from those who argue that the administration is quick to dismantle protections associated with Israel and Jewish communities but slow to build new mechanisms to safeguard them.
Critics of Mamdanis policy reversals, including elected officials and advocacy organizations, say the changes have helped foster an atmosphere in which hostility toward Israel increasingly bleeds into hostility toward Jews more broadly. According to the Post, these opponents contend that by discarding the IHRA definition and lifting restrictions on boycotts, the mayor has blurred the line between legitimate foreign policy debate and targeted animus against Jewish residents and enterprises.
The coalition has indicated that it will advocate for the restoration of policies that explicitly protect Israelis and Jews from discriminatory business practices, including measures that discourage boycotts and divestment campaigns rooted in political animus. At the same time, it says it will promote open dialogue on economic inclusion, arguing that true pluralism requires safeguarding the right to do business free from ideological intimidation.
For many in New Yorks business and Jewish communities, the stakes extend beyond the immediate controversies surrounding Mamdanis administration. They see a broader test of whether the city will uphold traditional American principles of free enterprise, equal protection, and religious liberty, or whether it will allow radical activism to dictate who is welcome in the marketplace.
Supporters of the new alliance argue that a city built on immigration, entrepreneurship, and merit cannot afford to indulge movements that single out one nation and its supporters for economic isolation. They maintain that if Jewish and Israeli-linked firms can be targeted today, other communities and industries could be next, eroding confidence in New York as a fair and predictable place to invest and work.
As the coalition begins its work, it is positioning itself as a counterweight to a political climate that many conservatives view as increasingly hostile to traditional allies and core Western values.
By pressing for policy reinstatements, tracking incidents of discrimination, and highlighting the indispensable role of Israeli-founded companies in New Yorks prosperity, the alliance is betting that voters, investors, and ordinary workers will ultimately reject ideological boycotts in favor of stability, growth, and equal treatment under the law.
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