New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani renewed his attacks against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an appearance on comedian Theo Von’s popular podcast, saying the United States should join the International Criminal Court and enforce its arrest warrants — including the warrant issued against Netanyahu.
“I believe that the US government should join the ICC. It should enforce its warrants for everyone,” Mamdani said during the interview.
Mamdani went on to accuse Netanyahu of genocide, telling Von, “When you ask about the prime minister, we’re talking about the architect of a horrific genocide.”
The conversation eventually turned directly to Mamdani’s previous pledge to have Netanyahu arrested if the Israeli leader came to New York City.
“But if you had your say, we would have arrested the guy, you think?” Von asked.
“If I had my say, the US government would have joined the ICC, honored every single warrant that they’ve issued,” Mamdani responded.
Von replied, “Heck yeah.”
Mamdani had repeatedly pledged during his campaign for mayor that Netanyahu would be arrested if he entered New York City, citing the ICC warrant. He later acknowledged that City Hall does not have the independent legal authority to carry out such an arrest.
Mamdani nevertheless made clear that his support for enforcing the warrant has not changed, arguing that the federal government should instead join the ICC and act on its warrants.
“One of the things that I’m proud of is that we live in the most Jewish city in the United States of America,” Mamdani said during the broader discussion about Israel and antisemitism.
“No Jewish person in New York City is responsible for the actions of the state of Israel,” he continued. “If you want to hold anybody accountable, it’s the people who are making those decisions — the prime minister, the state of Israel, also our complicity as American taxpayers, given that we know how many billions of dollars we have sent in bombs and continue to send.”
Mamdani also insisted that his attacks on Israel should not be viewed as antisemitic.
“Critique of the state of Israel, the policy actions, the genocide — that in and of itself is not antisemitic,” he said.
The mayor also addressed Netanyahu’s recent criticism of him during the Israeli prime minister’s visit to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.
“It was strange,” Mamdani said.
“I was having a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands at the LGBTQ center in downtown Manhattan … and then I get back from that meeting, and it’s like, ‘Oh, by the way, here’s what he was saying at the UN.’”
Mamdani claimed Netanyahu’s criticism was an effort to divert attention from the allegations against Israel.
“All of this is an attempt to distract from responsibility,” Mamdani said.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
2 Responses
I think we should enforce immigration laws against this Islamic Jihadist reprobate who is antiamerican,antisemitic and is inciting violence against Jews by deporting him to Uganda.We can include his pro suicide bomber father and wife in the package deal.
“Critique of the state of Israel, the policy actions, the genocide — that in and of itself is not antisemitic,” he said.
Yes, it is. Anyone who says that the Jewish nation, unlike every other nation in the world, has no right to defend itself, is an antisemite. Anyone who says that Jews are not entitled to live in peace in their own native land, and govern themselves there, is an antisemite. Anyone who calls the most humane war ever conducted in human history a “genocide”, is an antisemite.