Washington, DC, July 29 (ANI): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (local time) sharply criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of promoting hatred against Jewish residents and dismissing suggestions that he could face arrest during a planned visit to the United Nations in September.
Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Netanyahu confirmed that he intends to travel to New York for the annual UN General Assembly despite remarks made by Mamdani.
When Hannity said, “You’ve got this lunatic mayor in New York thinking you may get arrested if you go to New York, which will never happen,” Netanyahu responded, “First of all, I’m going to New York. I’d love to see you there when I go to the UN in September.”
Netanyahu then broadened his criticism of the New York mayor.
“But I’m definitely going there. I’m going to speak the truth in front of this hate-spewing elected official who’s pitting one group of New Yorkers against another. He’s turning them against New York Jews. I mean, what are we, in the 1930s? What is this? So much hate, so many lies,” Netanyahu said.
His remarks came after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday (local time) that he was “not interested in getting into a back-and-forth” with Netanyahu after being asked about the Israeli leader’s criticism of his previous comments regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to Fox News.
Speaking during an unrelated news conference in Brooklyn, Mamdani was asked to respond to Netanyahu’s comments on Fox News on Sunday, in which the Israeli prime minister reportedly accused him of “fomenting hate” in connection with an Upper West Side attack being investigated as a suspected hate crime.
“I’m not interested in getting into a back-and-forth with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Mamdani said.
“What I will say is that here in New York City, one of my top priorities is keeping Jewish New Yorkers safe, keeping every single New Yorker safe. We know that while Jewish New Yorkers comprise a minority of all New Yorkers, they comprise a majority of the victims of all hate crimes, and that is unacceptable,” he added.
According to Fox News, Mamdani was also asked whether he had discussed his previous calls for the city to recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction and arrest Netanyahu if he visited New York during conversations with President Donald Trump.
“I’ve made my thoughts clear. I’ll keep the conversation between the President and myself between him and myself,” Mamdani responded.
The exchange comes amid scrutiny surrounding a recent alleged hate crime in New York City.
The case involves Raul Morales, 51, who was charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder as a hate crime after two men were stabbed in separate attacks Thursday afternoon on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
Prosecutors alleged that Morales first approached a 57-year-old Asian man from behind, shouted “Allahu Akbar,” and stabbed him in the back without provocation. About four blocks away, Morales allegedly stabbed a Jewish man wearing a kippah, who had just left a synagogue, in the chest with a screwdriver, according to CNN. (ANI)
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