Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of fomenting antisemitism and directly blamed his anti-Israel rhetoric for a climate of fear gripping Jewish residents.
Mr. Netanyahu said that Jewish friends of his in New York have told him they are afraid to wear yarmulkes in public, suggesting it was “not accidental” that a Jewish man was stabbed outside a synagogue the day after what the Israeli leader called Mr. Mamdani’s “hate speech.”
“I don’t think it’s accidental that after he made this hate speech against Israel and against me, the next day a Jew is stabbed coming out of a synagogue — I think with a cry of ‘Allah akbar,’” he said during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“Jews feel very uncomfortable,” he said. “I speak to quite a lot of my friends, and they say, ’It’s like a different world. We’re afraid to go into the streets. We certainly do not want to wear yarmulkes or any clothing that would give away that we’re Jews.’”
The Israeli leader also said leading Democrats have told him privately they were intimidated into joining the radical faction of their party.
“I’m worried about the reasons that leading Democrats have said privately — one of them said it, actually, publicly — of why they joined the radical fringe,” he said.
“And the reason is that their family has been harassed, that they’re afraid of being tailed everywhere and being intimidated by this radical fringe. That’s really something that should worry every American,” he said.
Mr. Netanyahu, who is expected to visit Washington on Tuesday, said Mr. Mamdani should be the mayor for all New Yorkers regardless of faith but that he is “trying to turn one group against the other and he’s foisting hate and fear,” adding that he celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis perpetrated by Hamas.
Mr. Mamdani, a self-described socialist, told The New York Times last week in a video podcast interview that he believed Mr. Netanyahu “belongs in The Hague” to answer the International Criminal Court’s 2024 arrest warrant for alleged war crimes during the conflict in Gaza.
“He’s a war criminal who has been charged by the International Criminal Court,” he said.
Mr. Netanyahu shot back that the ICC just dismissed chief criminal prosecutor Karim Khan, the main driver of the war crime charges against Israel, over a sexual misconduct accusation following a 20-month investigation
“He pulled a con job on the international community with these bogus charges of war crimes on us. Now he’s going to be in the dock,” he said. “And I think that tells you the whole thing the mayor of New York is basing himself on.”
But the demands to arrest Mr. Netanyahu are spreading within the Democratic Party, as Rep. Ro Khanna of California made a similar call a couple days ago.
“The American president should arrest Netanyahu or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in accordance with international law,” Mr. Khanna told MeidasTouch reporter Pablo Manriquez on Friday.
“Full stop. America needs to cooperate with the ICC,” he added. “It’s a matter of human rights, and it’s a matter of a rules-based international order, and he should order the marshals to arrest someone if they come to our jurisdiction.”
The Trump administration has pushed back, saying that the U.S. has not ratified the Rome Statute, which obligates nations to arrest people who have ICC warrants against them.
Mr. Trump previously stated in a social media post that Mr. Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America.”
Mr. Netanyahu is expected to visit New York City in September to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly. While running for mayor Mr. Mamdani promised to have the Israeli leader arrested in that event.
Mr. Mamdani recently conceded he does not have the legal jurisdiction to arrest Mr. Netanyahu; only the federal government might. He said he would “follow the laws … as a leader who presides over our city, and that’s something that I plan to do.”
However, the New York mayor has called on his supporters to protest Mr. Netanyahu when he arrives in the city, angering the New York City Police Department.
Mr. Khanna also did not let up, saying, “this is about accountability.”
“You can’t just kill women and children, have an ICC arrest warrant and then walk into the United States of America and think nothing is gonna happen to you,” he said. “If you come to our jurisdiction, America is a country that’s gonna enforce international law.”
He did acknowledge Friday that the administration would not pursue an arrest, but used that point to attack Mr. Trump.
“He’s not a law-and-order president, and he doesn’t really care about human rights or international law,” Mr. Khanna said. “It’s embarrassing to the United States and to the world community.”
