Washington — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a sharp attack on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a tense address to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, a speech preceded by a mass walkout from the chamber.
Netanyahu labeled Mamdani, a vocal critic of Israel and advocate for Palestinian independence, antisemitic. Mamdani has repeatedly said he rejects “hate or bigotry of any kind.”
“Mr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of the city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,” Netanyahu said. “They talk to me. They tell me, ‘This is not the city we remember.’”
“Shame on you,” Netanyahu continued, accusing the mayor of misrepresenting events, portraying aggressors as victims and “spitting in the face of truth.”
While campaigning for mayor, Mamdani promised to enforce an international arrest warrant targeting Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister visited New York. He had described Netanyahu as a war criminal over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. However, Mamdani acknowledged in July that city authorities lacked the legal power to arrest him.
The U.N. appearance was Netanyahu’s first trip to New York since Mamdani became mayor in January.
Netanyahu, who rejects allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, also used the speech to respond to Mamdani’s attacks on his government.
“You falsely and repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide,” Netanyahu said. “You try to prevent me from coming here. You try to silence me. But you cannot silence me, and you cannot silence the truth. Here is a simple truth: Israel did not commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide.”
In a statement issued after the address, Mamdani responded: “As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies intended to sanitize his genocide of Palestinians. Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains subject to an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Shortly before Netanyahu took the stage, Mamdani shared a video about planting an olive tree at Gracie Mansion with Palestinian families from Gaza.
“May peace be our future,” Mamdani said.
