Amb. Danon criticizes Mamdani as a 'clown,' says anti-Israel rhetoric has dangerous consequences

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of using inflammatory anti-Israel rhetoric for political attention, arguing that it contributes to a climate in which antisemitic violence against Jews has increased.

Appearing on Larry Kudlow's Fox Business program, Danon pointed to a recent video posted by Mamdani and linked it to Thursday's stabbing attack on two Jewish men in Manhattan, saying the mayor's rhetoric was irresponsible even if his threats carried no legal weight.

Danon specifically criticized a video Mamdani posted on Wednesday in which the mayor acknowledged he had no legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu based on an International Criminal Court warrant, even as he leveled sharp accusations against Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. Neither the United States nor Israel is a party to the ICC.

The video drew condemnation from Jewish organizations in New York, which argued that such rhetoric could be interpreted by unstable individuals as encouragement to target Jewish residents.

On Thursday, an assailant shouting "Allahu Akbar" attacked two Jewish men on the street, stabbing them with a screwdriver. The suspected attacker, 51-year-old Raul Morales, was also heard shouting "Justice for Islam" as he fled past a synagogue.

On Friday evening, the Manhattan District Attorney announced that Morales had appeared in court and was formally charged with two counts of attempted murder in the second degree as a hate crime, one count of assault in the first degree as a hate crime, one count of assault in the second degree as a hate crime, and one count of attempted assault in the first degree as a hate crime.

Addressing the incident during his interview with Kudlow, Danon dismissed Mamdani's comments as political theater.

"He cannot arrest anyone. He’s a clown. He knows that. It is baseless. He wants to get attention, and so he speaks about Prime Minister Netanyahu."

"It’s a game, it’s a show. But it is a dangerous game," the ambassador continued. "Because look what happened yesterday. A few hours after he spread another video against Israel. Against the Jewish communities. Jews were attacked on the Upper West Side."

Mamdani has also faced criticism from Jewish leaders and several fellow Democrats following the attack. City Council Speaker Julie Menin called the stabbing "antisemitic" and expressed sympathy for New York's Jewish community, saying many feel their own mayor is against them.

The UJA-Federation of New York also noted that the attack "came soon after Mayor Mamdani once again used his platform to viciously attack Israel."

At a Friday morning news conference near the scene of the attack, UJA-Federation outgoing CEO Eric Goldstein accused Mamdani of "using the most vilifying rhetoric, focused solely on the only Jewish state and the supporters of it" and "using the most horrible, difficult language that inflames, that terrorizes, that causes people to do terrible things."

Mamdani's "words have profound real-world consequences on us, and shame on him, shame on him, for doing this for perceived political benefit. He must stop," Goldstein continued.

Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt was even more direct, writing in a social media post Friday that Mamdani should "step down and let someone else take over."

Pro-Israel Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman also criticized the mayor in posts on social media.