Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are escalating their increasingly public feud just as world leaders gather in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
Netanyahu released a video Tuesday directly attacking Mamdani after the Democratic mayor renewed his criticism of the Israeli leader and said an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu should be honored.
“Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani. Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu then promised to address the dispute when he speaks at the United Nations.
“I’m coming to the UN. I’m going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers and I’m gonna tell the truth about you,” Netanyahu said.
The exchange follows Mamdani’s latest interview with CNN, where he again described Netanyahu as “a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people.”
That characterization represents Mamdani’s stated view and remains fiercely disputed. Israel rejects accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza and maintains that its military campaign is directed against Hamas following the group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Mamdani has also repeatedly discussed the ICC arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu.
The International Criminal Court issued the warrant in November 2024, alleging responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Netanyahu and the Israeli government have rejected the allegations and challenged the court’s jurisdiction. The warrant constitutes allegations, not a criminal conviction.
Mamdani previously considered whether New York City could act on the warrant if Netanyahu entered the city. He has since acknowledged that City Hall lacks the legal authority to carry it out.
“And I’ve also been honest with New Yorkers that New York City does not have the authority to carry out the ICC’s warrant,” Mamdani told CNN.
He nevertheless said he believes the warrant should be honored and argued that political leaders should not be considered above international law.
There is another important complication. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, making the legal and diplomatic questions surrounding enforcement in the United States substantially different from those facing countries that are ICC members.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, has accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas and inciting hostility toward Jewish New Yorkers. Mamdani disputes accusations that his criticism of Israel amounts to support for Hamas or hostility toward Jews.
Netanyahu is expected in New York on Thursday for a brief visit centered on his U.N. address. His speech is expected to defend Israel’s military operations while answering international criticism of the Gaza war.
What ordinarily might have remained a foreign-policy disagreement has now become something much more personal.
Netanyahu says he intends to talk about Mamdani from the U.N. podium.
Mamdani has made equally clear that he has no intention of withdrawing his accusations.
Sources: Reuters, The Washington Post, CNN, CBS News New York, and the International Criminal Court.
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