Mamdani Renews Call for US to Join ICC and Enforce Warrants

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a podcast interview that he would want the United States to join the International Criminal Court and honor its arrest warrants, including the warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mamdani also called Netanyahu the architect of a horrific genocide, a charge the Israeli leader has rejected. The remarks came during an appearance on Theo Von’s podcast, This Past Weekend. Mamdani said that if he had his way, the U.S. government would join the court and enforce its warrants. The United States and Israel are not members of the ICC, according to the reports, and Mamdani has acknowledged that New York City lacks authority to arrest Netanyahu under the warrant. Mamdani was referring to Netanyahu’s criticism of him during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In the interview, the mayor described Netanyahu’s remarks as an attempt to distract from responsibility for Gaza. Netanyahu said at the UN that Israel had not committed genocide and had instead prevented one. The competing assertions are the leaders’ stated positions; the material available does not independently resolve the allegation.