A war of words between New York City (NYC) Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated on the eve of the latter’s UN General Assembly address.
Netanyahu accused Mamdani of “inciting riots against New York Jews”, and the Mayor fired back by calling him the subject of an International Criminal Court warrant and “the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians.”
This set the stage for Netanyahu to respond directly to the mayor during his UNGA speech on Thursday.
In July, Mamdani threatened to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if he arrived in New York City based on the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.
After a few days, he acknowledged that it was not legally possible.
Mamdani conceded that he has no authority to enforce the ICC warrant. Adding that NYC lacks independent legal authority to detain Netanyahu but did refer to federal authorities to arrest him.
He also added that Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City.
Ahead of his UNGA trip, Netanyahu hit back in a video, saying: “Shame on you, Mr Mamdani, for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people.”
He added, Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews. I’m coming to the UN, I’m going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I’m going to tell the truth about you.
Mamdani replied that what we actually do know to be true, when it comes to the prime minister, is that he is the subject of an ICC arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
He added that as prime minister, Netanyahu is the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024, accusing him of war crimes arising from the military response to the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, but Israel denied the allegations.
The legal situation is why Mamdani’s threat is more symbolic than enforceable, as he does not have the authority to enforce a warrant because the US is not a party to the Rome Statute.
The Rome Statute is the founding treaty of the ICC, and the US has never ratified it.
As the visit approached, Mamdani said that he had no plans to attend any protests because I have made my views, my thoughts, my assessments very clear.”
When it is the UN General Assembly, the focus is ensuring that our city remains prepared to host representatives from the world and keep New Yorkers safe, he added.
The dispute didn’t last long, as US President Donald Trump directly stepped in after Mamdani posted a statement on X.
Mamdani posted that “The federal government can, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant,”.
The President posted that he “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” without directly mentioning Mamdani.
Before leaving for the US, Netanyahu said in a video, “You hear the terrible lies that are being spread there. I will fight against the lies, I will fight for the truth, for our soldiers, for our country, there will also be surprises.”
This is one of Netanyahu’s shortest visits to the US, with no meeting with Trump arranged. He is set to leave the city on the same day after addressing UNGA.
Netanyahu has used Mamdani in his own re-election campaign in Israel, portraying him as a “pro-terror extremist” and a leader reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
Netanyahu seems to be using external criticism to frame it as an attack on Israel to unify his supporters.
Mamdani, a Muslim, democratic socialist and a pro-Palestine advocate, makes himself a prominent target of this messaging.
The clash is set to play out on Thursday, when Netanyahu said he would respond to Mamdani’s criticism of him and Israel during his UNGA speech.
