The months-in-the-making clash between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Benjamin Netanyahu will come to a head on Thursday when the Israeli prime minister delivers a speech before the U.N. General Assembly in Manhattan.
The two are poised to become the focal point of the annual gathering of the world’s most powerful people, which brings motorcades, gridlock and demonstrations to the city. This year’s event comes with an additional layer of drama: During his mayoral campaign last year, Mamdani threatened to arrest Netanyahu on an International Criminal Court warrant. The mayor later clarified he doesn’t have the authority to arrest the prime minister, but has still called him a “war criminal.”
In a CNN interview released on Tuesday, Mamdani maintained his criticism, saying the warrant against Netanyahu for war crimes and crimes against humanity is “something that should be honored, because what we want to see, and we’ve been talking about this today, is a faith in our politics, a faith in accountability.”
Netanyahu teased his upcoming remarks on Tuesday with a video where he falsely accused the mayor of supporting Hamas and inciting riots against Jewish New Yorkers. He also delivered a direct message to Mamdani. “I'm coming to the U.N.,” he said. “I'm going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers and I'm going to tell the truth about you.”
Mayor Mamdani reiterated in a recent interview that he believes Netanyahu is a war criminal.
Asked about the video, the mayor called Netanyahu the “architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians” and referenced ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza.
The NYPD has warned protests are anticipated near the U.N. on Manhattan's East Side throughout the General Assembly. Mamdani has said he won’t attend protests against Netanyahu — noting he would uphold the right to demonstrate peacefully.
Sal Albanese, a former city councilmember who advised Mamdani on public safety, said he believed the mayor could balance the two interests of politics and public safety. Mamdani’s pro-Palestinian activism is a key part of his identity that fueled his election and continued popularity, he said. Similarly, protests are a fixture of the city.
“Netanyahu is obviously going to drive a lot of people on the street to protest,” he said. “As long as they do it peacefully, I don’t think it will be a problem.”
In July, Jewish leaders criticized the mayor for inflaming tensions with his criticism of Israel following the stabbings of a Jewish man and an Asian man on the Upper West Side. The attack occurred days after Mamdani had released a video acknowledging that he did not have the legal authority to order Netanyahu’s arrest. Nevertheless, he said Netanyahu was a “war criminal.”
This is not the first time a New York City mayor has clashed with a foreign leader in town for the General Assembly. In 1995, Mayor Rudy Giuliani directed his Chief of Staff Randy Mastro to ask Yasir Arafat, then the chair of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to leave a Lincoln Center concert. The Clinton administration issued a statement criticizing Giuliani’s actions.
