Mamdani Admits NYC Can’t Arrest Netanyahu, Then Faces Antisemitism Backlash at Manhattan Rally

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spent the past week navigating one of the most politically fraught episodes of his young mayoralty, first conceding that his administration lacks the legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then facing accusations days later that his rhetoric is fueling antisemitism in the city.

The saga traces back to Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, when he repeatedly vowed that if elected, his administration would enforce an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu should the Israeli leader visit New York. In a December 2024 interview, well before he had secured the Democratic nomination, Mamdani told former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan flatly that “as mayor, New York City would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu,” framing the pledge as a matter of aligning the city’s actions with international law. The ICC issued that warrant in 2024, accusing Netanyahu and other Israeli officials of war crimes connected to the war in Gaza, allegations Israel has firmly denied. Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler, whose district includes parts of Manhattan, was among those who pushed back on the proposal early on, telling the Times it was “simply unrealistic” and that “the City of New York has no jurisdiction to do such a thing.” As recently as this month, Mamdani told the Times his legal team was actively working through how such an arrest might be executed if Netanyahu attended the UN General Assembly in September, and said the city would “follow all applicable local laws” if he did.

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That position shifted last Tuesday, when Mamdani posted a video on X acknowledging his administration had reviewed every available legal avenue and concluded the city could not execute the ICC’s warrant. “It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” he said. The video’s release was reportedly hastened after Mamdani’s office learned that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch was preparing her own public statement clarifying that police neither intended nor had the authority to arrest Netanyahu, prompting Mamdani, who reportedly helped edit the video himself, to get ahead of that announcement. Even while backing off the arrest pledge, Mamdani did not soften his underlying language, calling Netanyahu a “war criminal” and the “architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people,” and stating plainly that “Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.” He added that the same standard would apply to anyone accused of crimes against humanity, including Hamas leaders, and called on the federal government to join the ICC and carry out the warrant itself, since Washington, unlike New York City, does possess that authority under federal law.

The response from Israeli officials was swift and pointed. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told Mamdani “enough” and accused him of spreading “blood libels,” writing on social media that the mayor was elected to “serve New Yorkers, not Hamas’ propaganda” and telling him to “do your job.” President Trump, who had addressed the matter a day earlier, wrote on Truth Social that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” effectively pre-empting any federal action even as Mamdani called for exactly that.

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Responding to disappointment among some pro-Palestinian New Yorkers who felt he had backed away from his campaign pledge, Mamdani said the arrest was “something I want to see happen,” noting that Netanyahu “has visited this city many times and who has been welcomed by previous mayors.” “I want to make it clear that this welcome ends with me,” he added. “I will not welcome Netanyahu or any other war criminal when he comes to this city.”

The controversy escalated further over the weekend, arriving in the same stretch as the stabbing of a Jewish man and an Asian man on the Upper West Side in an incident authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime. Jewish New Yorkers gathered in the neighborhood Sunday to rally against antisemitism, with some protesters directly targeting Mamdani and his video, arguing his rhetoric was inflaming tensions between communities. “You, Mamdani, are throwing gasoline on the fire, pitting one community against the other,” one attendee said. Another rally participant, Ari Afilalo, said it was important to show up “to show we will not be silenced.” The rally also drew counter-protesters defending the mayor’s position, with one arguing that opposition to Mamdani reflected broader anti-Jewish sentiment rather than genuine concern about antisemitism, illustrating just how sharply divided public reaction to the episode has become.

Asked directly by CBS News New York for his response to New Yorkers who felt he was fanning antisemitism, Mamdani said, “I would say first and foremost there’s no tolerance for antisemitism in this city. We have to root out antisemitism from across the five boroughs and that’s because the city is one that has no room for hate or bigotry of any kind, and when we make criticisms of a nation state or policies, we have to remember those are criticisms of exactly that, never of a people, never of a faith.”

The episode reflects the broader tension that has followed Mamdani since his campaign, in a city home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel alongside a substantial Palestinian and Arab community. His comments on Israel have drawn scrutiny before, including a resurfaced 2023 clip in which he said “Israel is not a place, it is not a country,” remarks critics have cited as evidence of a broader anti-Israel stance predating his mayoralty. At the same time, a recent poll from the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center found Mamdani holds a higher favorability rating among Jewish Americans than Netanyahu himself, a data point his supporters have pointed to amid the criticism, even as opponents continue to argue his positioning on Israel and Gaza remains a significant political liability heading into the fall.

With Netanyahu expected in New York for the UN General Assembly in September, the underlying dispute over how the city will handle his visit, and how Mamdani’s rhetoric will be received by different communities across the five boroughs, remains unresolved. Both the mayor’s office and Netanyahu’s have yet to indicate whether the Israeli leader’s travel plans will change as a result of the ongoing standoff.