– Fetterman calls Zohran Mamdani a “clown” over push to arrest Netanyahu in New York City
– IDF says Palestinian soccer players it targeted were linked to Hamas and Islamic Jihad
– Mamdani’s past Israel comments resurface as scrutiny grows over Netanyahu arrest remarks
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman sharply criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after Mamdani threatened to pursue the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to the city. Fetterman dismissed the move as political theater, calling Mamdani a “clown” and arguing that the mayor should focus on local concerns rather than wading into a high-stakes international dispute tied to the International Criminal Court.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to reporters in the Senate subway area in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, June 2, 2026; New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives before speaking about the fiscal year 2027 budget in New York City on May 12, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP via Getty Images)
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani labeled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “war criminal” and called on the federal government to arrest him under an International Criminal Court warrant, escalating a political fight that has drawn national attention.
The Israeli Defense Forces pushed back against allegations that they deliberately targeted innocent Palestinian soccer players, saying several of the athletes, referees and coaches killed in recent strikes were affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The IDF released the names of 11 deceased players and alleged that three had connections to the Oct. 7 attack, accusing critics of using the athletes’ sports backgrounds to obscure alleged terror links.
A resurfaced video of New York City’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has fueled fresh backlash online over his views on Israel. Critics accused Mamdani of being “deranged” and disconnected from the priorities of New Yorkers, citing his decision to skip the city’s Israel parade and his vow to seek Netanyahu’s arrest if the Israeli leader entered New York.
A movie theater outside Portland, Oregon, is facing criticism after displaying a marquee for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” with wording that critics called antisemitic. The Lake Theater and Cafe sign read, “Before there were the Jews, there was… The Odyssey.” The message prompted outrage from members of the Jewish community, with critics also arguing that the statement was historically inaccurate.
Warren Cohn, CEO and founder of Rocketship PR and a media adviser to the American Middle East Press Association, argued that Zohran Mamdani’s focus on Israel is misplaced. “New Yorkers elected a mayor to obsess over New York, over crime, over housing, over sanitation, over schools,” Cohn wrote, “not a country 6,000 miles away.”
“He’s just a clown to even say that, so he won’t try that. Just sit down and focus on other problems that they have in New York. That’s really not your purview. You and I know that. Sit down.” – Sen. John Fetterman on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
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