Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday brushed off threats from New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who previously said he would have Netanyahu arrested if he set foot in the city. Speaking to reporters at the White House during a working dinner with President Donald Trump, Netanyahu dismissed the remarks as unserious and vowed to visit New York anyway.
“I’m not concerned about that,” Netanyahu said when asked about Mamdani’s statement. “There’s enough craziness in the world, but I guess it never ends. This is folly, and it’s silly in many ways. I’m going to come there with President Trump, and we’ll see.” Trump interjected with a grin: “I’ll get him out.”
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who recently won the Democratic mayoral primary in a surprise victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo, made headlines last year when he told journalist Mehdi Hasan he would enforce the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu if elected mayor.
“As mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu,” Mamdani told Zeteo in December 2024. “This is a city where our values are in line with international law. It’s time that our actions are too.”
Trump, standing beside Netanyahu on Monday, sharply criticized Mamdani. “We don’t know who the mayor is going to be yet, but this is a communist. He’s not a socialist. He’s a communist,” the president said. “He’s said some really bad things about Jewish people and a lot of others. I think he’s going through a bit of a honeymoon right now, but he might make it.”
“He’s going to behave,” Trump added. “He better behave. Otherwise, he’s going to have big problems.” Trump also warned that a Mamdani administration could jeopardize federal funding for New York City.
Meanwhile NYC Mayor Eric Adams was asked about this today, to which Adams said that Netanyahu is welcome in NYC.
New York City is home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world — approximately 1.3 million — and also hosts the largest Muslim population in the U.S., with roughly 750,000 adherents.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
Jihadist Mamdani has no authority to arrest him, even if he becomes Mayor.
This week, a woman was attacked in a Brooklyn subway station in broad daylight by a man with a knife and a club and was rescued by 5 bystanders who held the man until the police came and arrested him. He was then released by a judge (free to attack other people) based on the bail reform signed into law by Andrew Cuomo. How can anyone vote for Cuomo?
“The former president said”
Yep. Genius YWN as usual.