The profilee's activism occurred during Israel’s war against Hamas, which Israel launched after the October 7, 2023, terror attacks when Hamas murdered nearly 1,200 Israelis, injured thousands and kidnapped hundreds.
As of January 2026, Davis was listed as a member of the transition team for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, serving on the Youth & Education Committee.
Mamdani has called for dismantling capitalism and promoted hatred of the police. He has also justified Hamas terrorism and glorified terror supporters. On his first day as mayor, he revoked executive orders designed to combat antisemitism, including increased police protection at synagogues, and nullified a ban on city officials to boycott Israel.
As of January 2026, Davis was listed as a professor of English at Brooklyn College (BC), part of the City University of New York (CUNY). BC is located in Brooklyn, New York.
As of the same date, Davis was listed as the president of the CUNY chapter of the Professional Staff Congress (PSC-CUNY) since 2021.
As of the same date, Davis's LinkedIn said he was located in Brooklyn, New York.
On May 22, 2024, Davis wrote a letter on behalf of the executive committee of PSC-CUNY, urging delegates to vote against the resolution to disband CUNY's anti-Israel encampment.
The encampment was one of about 200 anti-Israel college encampments set up in North America, and over 20 globally, in the spring of 2024. The first began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University. Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and used anti-Semitic language in their activism. They also promoted BDS and protested Israel’s war against Hamas, launched after Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis on October 7, 2023.
On November 5, 2025, PSC-CUNY published a message from Davis titled: "Mayor Mamdani | What’s next?" Davis wrote: "Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor with a massive voter turnout and a clear mandate. Congratulations and thank you to every PSC member who participated in this historic campaign."
On November 4, 2025, Davis was featured in a post on Instagram by PSC-CUNY. The text next to the post read: "PSC President James Davis is among the dozens of PSC volunteers spending the day talking to their neighbors about electing CUNY champions like @ZohranKMamdani..."
On October 17, 2025, Davis was featured in a post on Instagram by PSC-CUNY. The text next to the post read: "Yesterday, PSC members gathered with hundreds of union siblings and community members to welcome @zohrankmamdani to the first general election mayoral debate and cheer him on. Go Zohran!"
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by pro-terror activist Omar Barghouti in 2005 to turn “Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.” Barghouti has also called for Israel's destruction and the BDS movement demands would result in that same goal.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been infiltrating university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments propose resolutions to boycott or divestment from Israel or Israeli-affiliated entities. BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents and pro-terror activism on campus.
