NYC Mayor Mamdani raises possibility of arresting Netanyahu ahead of UN visit

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has renewed his pledge to seek the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September, saying his administration is consulting with the city's law department about what legal authority, if any, it has to act.

The remarks, made during a New York Times podcast interview, revive a campaign promise that has drawn sharp criticism from Israeli officials ahead of Netanyahu's expected appearance at the annual UN gathering.

"I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in the Hague," Mamdani said in a NYT podcast interview with Lulu Garcia-Navarro.

"He's a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court [ICC]," Mamdani argued. "And what you will find is that it is an opinion that is held by many, purely because of what his actions have wrought over these last many years."

Mamdani, who assumed office in January as New York City's first Muslim mayor, said during his election campaign that he would arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister visited the city.

He has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, including shortly after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

According to the New York Times, Mamdani is in "active conversation" with New York's law department regarding the issue. He also acknowledged that his authority may be limited.

"Whatever the law allows me to do in New York City, that's what we will do, but we won't be writing our own laws to that end," Mamdani told the NYT podcast.

Netanyahu dismissed the comments during an interview on the radio program Sid & Friends in the Morning, accusing Mamdani of aligning himself with Hamas, the terrorist organization that openly calls for Israel's destruction.

"Who does he champion? Hamas, that calls openly to massacre every Jew on Earth, that conducted that horrible massacre, the worst massacre on Jews since the Holocaust," Netanyahu stated.

"I think he should look at who he's condemning, who he's praising," the Israeli leader continued. "He's condemning Israel, the one democracy that stands shoulder to shoulder with American values."

Netanyahu also suggested that "secretly, [Mamdani] hates America."

The controversy has also drawn responses from other Israeli officials. Israel's Consul-General in New York, Ofir Akunis, dismissed Mamdani's comments, arguing that the mayor has "no authority" to seek the Israeli prime minister's arrest.

"Instead of dealing with matters over which he has no authority, it would be better for him to start running New York City and only New York City," Akunis argued.

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, also rejected the mayor's remarks, saying Netanyahu's planned visit to New York would proceed as scheduled.

"It will not change a thing," Danon wrote in a post on 𝕏.

"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," the Israeli ambassador stated. "And if anyone should be arrested, it is Mamdani," he added.

Even Israeli opposition leaders who have criticized Netanyahu have rejected international efforts to accuse Israel of committing "genocide" during the war in Gaza.

In January, Mamdani revoked New York City's use of the IHRA [International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance] definition of antisemitism, which explicitly defines the demonization and delegitimization of Israel as forms of antisemitism. The move drew criticism from several Jewish American organizations, which argued it weakened the city's response to antisemitism.