Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shrugged off the threat of arrest if he visits New York City, responding directly to remarks made by Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and frontrunner in the city’s upcoming mayoral race.
Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist and outspoken critic of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza, declared in December that if elected mayor, he would enforce the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest.
“This is a city where our values align with international law,” Mamdani stated at the time. “It’s time our actions do as well.”
The ICC has issued warrants for both Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing them of war crimes in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Mamdani has since made headlines for pledging that, under his leadership, New York would not serve as “a safe haven for war criminals.”
Netanyahu addressed the issue during a press event Monday evening following a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, where the two discussed Iran, Gaza, and broader Middle East security issues.
Asked whether he feared arrest upon entering New York City, Netanyahu replied: “I’m not concerned about that.”
“I’m going to come there with President Trump and we’ll see,” he added, brushing off Mamdani’s threat as “silly in many ways, because it’s just not serious.”
Trump, standing alongside Netanyahu, echoed his ally’s dismissal and took a sharp jab at Mamdani, calling him “a communist” and accusing him of making “really bad statements about Jewish people.”
“We don’t know who the mayor is going to be yet,” Trump said. “But he’s going to behave. He better behave. Otherwise, he’s going to have big problems.”
Netanyahu later pivoted to broader geopolitical concerns, emphasizing that the real issue isn’t political threats in U.S. cities, but the future of peace and security in the region.
“What is serious,” Netanyahu said, “is whether there can be a two-state solution in Gaza that does not pose an existential threat to the Israeli people.”
He repeated stark reminders of the October 7th Hamas-led attacks on Israeli civilians, comparing them to Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust.
“They didn’t build up Gaza—they built terror tunnels,” Netanyahu said. “They massacred our people, raped our women, beheaded our men… horrendous massacres like we haven’t seen since World War II.”
“People aren’t likely to say, ‘Let’s give them another state.’ It would be a platform to destroy Israel,” he continued. “We will make peace only with those Palestinians who don’t want to destroy us.”
In closing, Netanyahu invoked a phrase deeply rooted in Israeli national memory: “Never again.”
“Never again is now,” he said. “It’s not going to happen again.”
As tensions flare between American progressives and Israeli leadership, the potential political clash between Mamdani and Netanyahu may become a flashpoint in U.S.–Israel relations—and the future of global accountability for wartime conduct.
Arrest mamdani for threats against PRESIDENT TRUMP and send this terrorist to LEAVENWORTH TO ROT!