New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has hit back at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of repeating “baseless lies” during his address to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday, September 24.
In a statement issued hours after Netanyahu’s speech, Mamdani accused the Israeli prime minister of using his UNGA address to “sanitise” what he described as Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.
“As he has done time and again, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies meant to sanitise his genocide of Palestinians,” Mamdani said.
“Yet no lie can change the fact that he remains the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity,” he added.
Mamdani’s remarks came after Netanyahu directly criticised the New York mayor during his UNGA speech, accusing him of spreading false claims about Israel and contributing to an environment in which Jewish New Yorkers no longer feel safe.
“Mr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also accused Mamdani of associating with people he alleged were supportive of Hamas and hostile towards Israel and Jewish communities.
He referred to online commentator Hasan Piker and raised social media activity involving Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji. Netanyahu alleged that Duwaji had liked posts praising the October 7, 2023 attack and another saying Tel Aviv should not exist.
Mamdani has rejected accusations that he supports Hamas. He has also maintained that his criticism of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights do not amount to antisemitism.
Netanyahu rejected allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
“You falsely and repeatedly accuse Israel of genocide,” Netanyahu told Mamdani. “Israel didn’t commit genocide; Israel prevented genocide,” he added.
The exchange comes against the backdrop of Mamdani’s previous calls for Netanyahu to face arrest under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in November 2024, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. Israel rejects the allegations and disputes the court’s jurisdiction.
During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani had said he would direct New York police to enforce the ICC warrant if Netanyahu visited the city. He has since acknowledged that the mayor’s office does not have the authority to arrest the Israeli prime minister and has called on the US federal government to enforce the warrant.
Mamdani, New York’s first Muslim mayor, has repeatedly criticised Netanyahu and Israel’s military actions in Gaza. He has previously described Netanyahu as a “war criminal” and accused him of being responsible for what he calls genocide against Palestinians.
This post was last modified on September 25, 2026 5:05 pm