Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will confront New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s criticism of Israel during his U.N. General Assembly appearance Thursday after accusing the Democratic mayor of supporting Hamas and inciting unrest against Jewish New Yorkers.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his public dispute with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, accusing the Democratic mayor of supporting Hamas and inciting unrest against Jews while promising to answer Mamdani’s criticism of Israel when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly later this week. The confrontation comes two days after Mamdani again called Netanyahu a war criminal and said an International Criminal Court warrant against him should be honored.
Netanyahu delivered his criticism in a video message ahead of his scheduled Thursday visit to New York.
“Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani,” Netanyahu said. “Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews.”
Netanyahu then said he intends to use his U.N. appearance to defend Israel’s military and respond directly to the New York mayor.
“I’m coming to the U.N.,” Netanyahu said. “I’m going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I’ve got to tell the truth about you.”
The remarks followed Mamdani’s latest criticism of Netanyahu during a CNN interview Monday, when the mayor renewed his support for enforcement of the ICC arrest warrant.
Mamdani described Netanyahu as “a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people” and said the international court’s warrant should be honored. Mamdani has repeatedly criticized Israel’s conduct in Gaza, while Netanyahu and the Israeli government reject genocide and war-crimes allegations against the prime minister.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing him of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to the Gaza conflict. The court’s allegations include the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and alleged crimes against humanity including murder, persecution and other inhumane acts. Netanyahu remains at large under the warrant.
Israel has rejected the accusations and challenged the court’s actions. Neither Israel nor the United States is a state party to the ICC, and Washington has maintained that the court lacks jurisdiction over U.S. nationals while opposing its cases involving Israeli officials.
The dispute over the warrant became an issue in New York politics before Mamdani took office. During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani pledged that New York would arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister entered the city.
After taking office, Mamdani’s administration examined whether New York City had the legal power to carry out such an arrest and concluded that the city lacked independent authority to enforce the ICC warrant. Mamdani nevertheless continued to support the warrant and declared Netanyahu “not welcome” in New York.
President Donald Trump has rejected the prospect of Netanyahu being taken into custody during a U.S. visit. In July, as Mamdani’s administration explored its options, Trump said Netanyahu would not be arrested while in the United States.
The dispute intensified again this week as Netanyahu prepared for his U.N. appearance.
Israeli Consul General in New York Ofir Akunis joined Netanyahu in criticizing Mamdani Tuesday, accusing the mayor of spreading “lies and blood libels” against Israel and faulting him over his response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack, according to The Jerusalem Post.
“Mamdani continues doing the only thing he knows how to do: incitement and the spreading of lies and blood libels against the State of Israel: classic antisemitism,” Akunis said. “Once again, not a single word about the savage and monstrous massacre of October 7 committed by the barbaric people who invaded Israel from Gaza.”
Akunis added: “The prime minister of Israel will arrive in New York City, address the UN, and tell the entire world who the ayatollahs, Hezbollah, and Hamas truly are: enemies of the United States and the West.”
Netanyahu’s trip to New York is expected to be considerably shorter than initially planned. He is scheduled to arrive Thursday morning, deliver his General Assembly address at 2 p.m. and return to Israel shortly afterward. Earlier plans called for a multi-day U.S. visit that would have included additional meetings.
The abbreviated visit will nevertheless place Netanyahu in New York amid an increasingly public confrontation with the city’s mayor over the Gaza war, Hamas and the legitimacy of the ICC proceedings against the Israeli leader.
Mamdani has maintained that the arrest warrant should be respected even after acknowledging that New York City cannot independently enforce it, while Netanyahu has rejected both the court’s allegations and Mamdani’s accusations. Netanyahu now says he intends to carry that dispute onto the U.N. stage Thursday as he defends Israel’s military actions and responds to criticism from the mayor of the city hosting the General Assembly.
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