ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will speak at the United Nations in New York City, defying an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant and comments from Mayor Zohran Mamdani that he is not welcome in the city.
Netanyahu slammed Mamdani during an interview on the Fox News programme Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, continuing to push a series of baseless claims about the leftist politician who has said Netanyahu should be arrested if he comes to the US.
“I intend to come and speak the truth – speak for Israel and for the Israeli-American alliance from the podium of the United Nations,” Netanyahu said.
Mamdani’s outspoken criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian rights, views shared by a growing number of people in the US, has attracted the ire of pro-Israel figures who have sought to portray those criticisms as a form of anti-Semitism.
“He’s fomenting hate. He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers – Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone,” Netanyahu said, mirroring those claims. “But he’s trying to turn one group against the other. I speak to Jewish Americans, and they’re afraid right now.”
However, a June survey of more than 1,000 Jewish adults across the US by the Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research appeared to indicate otherwise.
The survey found that about four in 10 Jewish adults, 44 per cent, viewed Mamdani “somewhat” or “very” favourably, while a similar share, 39 percent, viewed him “somewhat” or “very” unfavourably. About two in 10 Jewish adults say they don’t know enough to have an opinion either way.
On the other hand, only about one-third of Jewish adults had a “somewhat” or “very” favourable opinion of Netanyahu, while about six in 10 have a “somewhat” or “very” unfavourable view, including 42 percent who have a “very” unfavourable opinion. About one in 10 say they don’t know enough to say.
Such arguments appear increasingly out of step in the US, where voters have undergone a seismic shift away from support for Israel over the last several years.
Despite a deluge of attacks on Mamdani over his support for Palestine, a recent AP-NORC poll found that Jewish adults in the US have a more favourable view of the mayor than they do of Netanyahu himself, and that 30 percent believe Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.
Despite formidable political allies in both major parties and influence in US domestic politics, supporters of Israel have struggled to effectively address the shift in public opinion that has led to increased calls for ending US support and weapons transfers.
The US-Israel war on Iran, a longtime priority sought by Netanyahu, is also deeply unpopular with US voters.
Netanyahu said on Sunday that any renewed Iranian attacks on Israel would be a “terrible mistake”.
Mamdani stated during his campaign that he would have Netanyahu arrested if he visited New York City, but stated recently that, while Netanyahu is a war criminal who should be arrested if he comes to the US, New York City does not have the authority to do so itself.
A YouGov poll published this week found that 46 percent of people in the US believe Netanyahu should be arrested, while 28 percent said he should not be.
Netanyahu falsely claimed in his interview that Mamdani and his wife had “celebrated” the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,100 people.
“What Mamdani is supporting – his wife, his family – he celebrated the October 7th massacre, the worst massacre against Jews since the holocaust,” said Netanyahu.
“He’s supporting the Hamas murderers who raped our women, then beheaded them, burnt babies alive, and took innocent people hostages,” he added.
While Hamas gunmen killed scores of unarmed Israeli civilians on October 7 and took others captive, some of the most lurid claims about events on that day that were widely shared by Israel, such as the beheading of babies, have been repeatedly debunked.