New York City officials are preparing for an intense security operation next month as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the city — a trip some police sources say has been made more volatile by Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rhetoric.
Netanyahu’s visit is expected to require a sweeping, presidential-style NYPD security perimeter. Law enforcement sources told The Post they believe Mamdani’s outspoken opposition to the Israeli leader has fueled tensions among anti-Netanyahu protesters, raising concerns for officers on the front lines and New Yorkers caught in the disruption.
“Basically, he’s making what would be considered a Category 1 hurricane that we deal with every year into a Category 5 because of his words,” a law enforcement source said.
Mamdani, a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and a sharp critic of Israel, called for Netanyahu’s arrest during his 2025 mayoral campaign.
He repeated that demand last month before later conceding that the NYPD does not have the legal authority to arrest the Israeli prime minister.
The mayor then encouraged his supporters to “take to the streets” during Netanyahu’s New York City visit, declaring that “one of the bedrocks of our city is protest.”
Those remarks have angered many rank-and-file officers who are already facing a complicated security assignment, the law enforcement source said.
“We have to protect hotels, we have to protect wherever [dignitaries] go out to eat, we have to protect everything,” the law enforcement source said. “Having the mayor say, ‘Go ahead and protest, and he should be arrested’ . . . is unfair to your own cops.”
Netanyahu is expected to arrive in the city next month for the United Nations General Assembly and is scheduled to address the body on Sept. 26.
Netanyahu’s full schedule isn’t yet known so the final number of police officers needed for his detail is up in the air, but it could grow to 60 or more with “direct and peripheral” officers, police sources said.
Most dignitaries get a protective detail of one sergeant and eight detectives. Security at the event also includes federal and state agents, usually supplemented by the foreign nation’s own agents.
“What’s going to stop one of the protesters from becoming a vigilante and trying to hurt or God forbid kill him?” the source said.
Cops are also worried that protesters who think they’re acting on the mayor’s behalf “could cause an officer to get hurt or even killed,” the source said.
Another law enforcement source wondered if Mamdani already forgot the bomb discovered outside Gracie Mansion in March.
Two lefty Pennsylvania men inspired by ISIS allegedly attempted to detonate two bombs in a crowd of people attending the “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” protest held by a far-right activist.
The law enforcement source fears a similar terror attack attempt during Netanyahu’s visit.
“His rhetoric is reckless,” the source said of Mamdani. “It emboldens radical and unstable agitators who could put both New Yorkers and law enforcement officers in harm’s way.”
A City Hall insider also fears violence.
“It’s very concerning,” said the insider. “I mean, [Mamdani’s] rhetoric has clearly caused this uptick in antisemitism all across our city, and now telling people to go out and protest is going to create a powder keg of a situation.
“It’s not the mayor’s job to tell people to protest and to urge them to protest,” the city government source said. “It’s likely to be very violent. And I mean, what on Earth is this accomplishing?”
“It’s completely irresponsible,” he added.
More than half of NYC hate crimes – 56.9% – were antisemitic, despite Jewish people making up just 10% of the city’s population, the NYPD said.
There has been a frightening 9.4% uptick in hate crimes citywide so far this year even as all seven major crime categories experienced sharp declines citywide.
Detectives Endowment Association President Scott Munro fears for his members.
“Mayor Mamdani’s reckless rhetoric surrounding Netanyahu and his calls for protests only fan the flames — making the assignment of protecting UNGA dignitaries even more difficult,” he said in a statement.
He noted that officers are still recovering from injuries suffered in Midtown during the NBA Finals.
“Our detectives will do their job, as they always do,” Munro said. “It’s time for the mayor to do his — stand with the city and the men and women in blue protecting it, not with those on the radical protest line.”
The NYPD said it will determine the size of Netanyahu’s detail based on an analysis of the perceived threat.
“As we do every year, the NYPD works with the Secret Service, the State Department, and other federal agencies to provide protection to foreign dignitaries traveling to NYC based on the level of threat assessed, an NYPD spokesperson said in a statement.
