Key facts
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to expose "the truth" about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the UN General Assembly.
- Netanyahu accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas and inciting riots against New York Jews.
- Mamdani previously called for the ICC to honor an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.
- Mamdani described Netanyahu as "a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people."
- Israeli Consul-General Ofir Akunis called Mamdani's statements antisemitic.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday threatened to expose "the truth" about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the UN General Assembly, escalating a public dispute between the two officials. Netanyahu shared a video on X/Twitter stating, "Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani. Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews." He added, "I'm coming to the UN. I'm going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I'm going to tell the truth about you."
Netanyahu is scheduled to arrive in New York on Thursday morning and address the UN General Assembly at 2 p.m. His visit was initially planned to be longer and include a trip to Texas and a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Israeli Consul-General in New York Ofir Akunis supported Netanyahu's stance, posting on X that Mamdani "continues doing the only thing he knows how to do: incitement and the spreading of lies and blood libels against the State of Israel: classic antisemitism." Akunis added that Mamdani had not spoken about the October 7 massacre.
Mamdani's comments follow a Monday CNN interview where he reiterated his call for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to honor the arrest warrant issued for Netanyahu. Mamdani told CNN that he believes Netanyahu to be "a war criminal and an architect of a horrific genocide of the Palestinian people." He stated that if the ICC deems someone worthy of an arrest, "who are we to say that anyone should be above that?"
In July, Mamdani had investigated the possibility of arresting Netanyahu based on the ICC warrant, concluding he could not legally do so but warning that Netanyahu was "not welcome" in New York City.