Netanyahu accuses NYC mayor Mamdani of hate before UN visit

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of fomenting hate and antisemitism, setting off a sharp diplomatic clash ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit to the United Nations in September. The dispute erupted after Mamdani, in a video message on July 22, called for Netanyahu's arrest over an International Criminal Court warrant and stated the Israeli leader was not welcome in the city.

Netanyahu, speaking in a televised interview on July 26, dismissed the ICC's charges as "bogus" and vowed to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly despite the mayor's stance. He argued that Mamdani's rhetoric was divisive and dangerous. "He's supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers - Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone," Netanyahu said. "But he's trying to turn one group against the other." The prime minister also suggested a connection between the mayor's comments and a violent incident, citing the stabbing of a Jewish man outside a Manhattan synagogue on July 23, which police are investigating as a possible hate crime.

Mayor Mamdani has consistently framed his criticism as directed at Israeli policy and leadership, not at Jewish people....