Netanyahu Says New York Trip Will Go Ahead Despite Mamdani’s Arrest Calls

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he has no plans to cancel his trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September, despite calls by Mayor Zohran Mamdani for his arrest if he visits the city.

“I’m going to New York,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Fox News’ “Hannity” on July 28, following his White House meeting with President Donald Trump.

“I’m going to speak the truth in front of this hate-spewing elected official who’s pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others; he’s turning them against New York Jews.”

Netanyahu made similar remarks on July 26 during an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” responding to a video in which Mamdani called the Israeli leader a “war criminal.”

Mamdani had urged the U.S. government to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him and said Netanyahu was not welcome in New York City.

Netanyahu said Mamdani is “fomenting hate,” adding that he is “supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers—Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone,” but is “trying to turn one group against the other.”

The Israeli prime minister said Jewish residents in New York had told him they were afraid and mentioned a stabbing attack that took place last week.

Two people, an Asian male and a Jewish male, were stabbed in separate attacks on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, New York police said.

New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a July 23 post on X that the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” during both attacks and that investigators were evaluating whether the stabbings constituted a hate crime.

“I don’t think it’s accidental that after he made this hate speech against Israel and against me, the next day a Jew was stabbed coming out of a synagogue,” Netanyahu said.

The police have not linked the attacks to Mamdani’s remarks.

Netanyahu’s comments came ahead of his U.S. visit for talks with Trump at the president’s invitation.

“In our meeting, we will discuss all the issues on the table, with Iran at the forefront. Our goal is clear: to safeguard Israel’s security, strengthen its power, and expand the circle of peace around us,” Netanyahu said in a July 27 post on X.  

ICC Warrant Enforcement

The ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to the war in Gaza.

Israel rejects the allegations, and both Netanyahu and Gallant deny wrongdoing.

The war began after the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on July 27 that 73,329 people had been killed in Gaza since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023.

Mamdani said in the July 21 video post that his administration had examined whether New York City could execute the ICC warrant if Netanyahu visited the city.

“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does,” Mamdani said, urging the Trump administration to comply with the warrant.

He also said that Netanyahu was responsible for the deaths of more than 73,000 people.

Trump said on July 20 that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form” while in the United States.

At the start of Israel’s weekly Cabinet meeting on July 26, Netanyahu said he had spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reiterated “the U.S. intention to act firmly against this organization,” referring to the ICC.

The Epoch Times reached out to the New York City mayor’s office for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.