New York (AFP) – New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is in talks over whether to try to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an upcoming UN summit, he said in an interview published Saturday – prompting a sharp rebuke from Netanyahu’s camp.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani told The New York Times. “He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court.”
The leftist Mamdani, who has called Israel an “apartheid regime,” added: “That is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years.”
Mamdani admitted he was not sure if he has the power to order the New York Police Department to detain a foreign leader but is discussing the matter with the city’s legal team.
“Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that’s what we will do,” he said.
The UN General Assembly, a major gathering of world leaders, takes place in September at UN headquarters in New York.
Mamdani in the past has vowed to send the NYPD to enforce arrest warrants against leaders wanted by the International Criminal Court, including Netanyahu or Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Hague-based ICC said in 2024 that it had reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu was responsible for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the unprecedented […] attack by Hamas.
Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, quickly called out Mamdani.
“Instead of focusing on his responsibilities as mayor and confronting the rising wave of antisemitism in his city, he has chosen to incite hostility and generate headlines by attacking the State of Israel,” Danon wrote on X.
“It will not change a thing. Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu will come to New York, address the United Nations General Assembly with pride, and stand before the world to state Israel’s truth and its unwavering right to defend its citizens,” he said.
“And if anyone should be arrested, it is @NYCMayor Zohran Mamdani.”
Netanyahu has accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas, saying on a recent New York radio show: “I think, secretly, he hates America.”
Lol. The protests that I’m aware of were at synagogues who were explicitly doing things to support the Zionist state and their colonial/invasion efforts. Even still, that’s one of the dumbest arguments you could make. Does protesting outside of a bank mean you hate everyone who uses a bank? Does protesting outside of a state hall mean you hate everyone who uses the government apparatus?
Maybe the Zionist state of Israel should stop using racism as a shield to defend their actions of commiting a genocide and stealing land, and people would actually listen! Have you heard the story of the boy who cried wolf? Eventually people realize that you’re just making shit up, and they shouldn’t listen to you. If you want some credibility, come up with a better argument and stop the bullshit. Let your bosses know. Maybe they can make the change and actually help you, instead of making everyone hate you.
Here’s an article about passing a law to create a buffer zone around synogugues to prevent anti-zionist from doing antisemitc shit:
https://apnews.com/article/new-york-protest-buffer-zones-worship-houses-496d550e0c97aa2b250e7e36d445239d
Note:
Mamdani knows this shit is going on, and is just quietly putting up perimeters to keep the antisemitism from getting out of hand. He’s not speaking out about antisemitism in New York, because he’d lose support from his “anti-zionist” base because a lot of them are the ones actually doing the antisemitic shit.