New York City Mayor Responds to Speech by Israeli Prime Minister

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently described his reaction to being mentioned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly in late September. Mamdani discussed these events on a podcast with Theo Von.

Mamdani admitted he felt unusual after Netanyahu called him out. “It was strange,” he said. Mamdani recalled he had been in a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands at an LGBTQ center in downtown Manhattan when he learned about Netanyahu’s comments.

During his U.N. speech, Netanyahu criticized Mamdani for allegedly spreading falsehoods about Israel. He accused the mayor of attempting to prevent him from speaking in New York. “So, to all those spreading these lies about my country and about our brave soldiers, whether they sit in this hall or in the office of the antisemitic mayor of New York, I say this: Shame on you,” Netanyahu declared.

Mamdani had previously vowed to have Netanyahu arrested as part of his campaign for mayor. He urged the federal government to enforce an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against Netanyahu if he were to visit New York. That warrant, issued in November 2024, alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Israeli government has rejected these allegations.

During the podcast, Von asked Mamdani if he indeed wanted Netanyahu arrested. Mamdani responded by expressing his desire for the U.S. government to join the ICC and honor its warrants.

Reflecting on being named during Netanyahu’s speech, Mamdani remarked that it was not about him personally. He saw it as an effort to shift focus from Netanyahu’s actions. Mamdani labeled Netanyahu as “the architect of a genocide,” suggesting that the Israeli Leader was attempting to evade these serious accusations.

Additional context was provided by Fox News contributors Emma Bussey and Michael Sinkewicz. Alexander Hall, who is associated with Fox News Digital, edited the report.