Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tuesday that he will travel to New York in September for the United Nations General Assembly, despite Mayor Zohran Mamdani's repeated demands for his arrest as a war criminal.
Speaking after a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Netanyahu rejected calls by the New York City mayor to have him detained upon arrival over international war crimes allegations related to military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.
"I'm going to New York," Netanyahu said.
The Israeli leader accused the mayor of fostering hostility against the local Jewish population while defending his upcoming appearance at the international summit.
"I'm going to speak the truth in front of this hate-spewing elected official who's pitting one group of New Yorkers against the others.
He's turning them against New York Jews," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu also referenced historical anti-Semitism during his remarks regarding the current political environment in the city.
"What are we in the 1930s? What is this?
So much hate, so many lies," he said.
He further criticized the International Criminal Court, which previously issued an arrest warrant against him, dismissing the international tribunal's legitimacy while warning that its authority could eventually target American leadership and military personnel.
"They don't charge Hezbollah… Supposedly, they charged Hamas, but a guy who's already dead. So no, it's fake.
It's one big fake," Netanyahu said.
He continued to criticize the international court while speaking on host Sean Hannity's program.
"They could say that the president of the United States is a war criminal, that American soldiers – valiantly fighting next to us, shoulder to shoulder, against the tyranny in Tehran – that they're war criminals," he said.
Regarding his diplomatic discussions in Washington, Netanyahu characterized his meeting with President Trump as highly productive, emphasizing shared strategic objectives against regional threats.
"I always hate to disappoint our would-be critics who are trying to find cracks in our alliance.
And what they find, like today, is a wall of granite," Netanyahu said.
He concluded his remarks on the nuclear dispute with Iran.
"We don't want to see this fanatic regime in Tehran have nuclear weapons to threaten every American and to threaten the peace of the world, and to threaten the existence of Israel," Netanyahu said.
"So we have a common goal, and it's gonna be achieved, either through diplomatic means or other means."
Mayor Mamdani Responds
Mayor Mamdani maintained on Monday that his public criticisms of the Israeli prime minister were distinct from his commitment to safeguarding Jewish New Yorkers, following public accusations by Netanyahu linking his rhetoric to a recent knife attack on the Upper West Side.
"I'm not interested in getting into a back and forth with Prime Minister Netanyahu," Mamdani said.
The mayor re-emphasized his administration's focus on public safety and minority protection across the five boroughs.
"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," Mamdani said.
In the wake of the Upper West Side violence where suspect Raul Morales was charged with attempted murder and a hate crime, Mamdani expressed hopes for the victims while condemning bias-motivated violence.
"We have no tolerance for hatred; we have no tolerance for bigotry," Mamdani said.
Addressing persistent criticisms regarding his public stance on Netanyahu, Mamdani defended his factual assertions regarding international actions.
"When I make criticisms of Prime Minister Netanyahu, they are criticisms of Prime Minister Netanyahu," Mamdani said.
"What I shared were not even, frankly, personal assessments; they were objective facts."
Mamdani affirmed that municipal protection applies equally to all residents regardless of political agreement with city hall.
"My job is to make sure that they are safe, that they are thriving, and they continue to call this city home, and that's always going to be my north star on how we can do that, because this is an incredible city, and it's a city where everyone needs to know that their belonging to it is not conditional on how they feel about the mayor," Mamdani said.
City attorneys previously noted that New York City lacks independent legal jurisdiction to execute ICC warrants, as reported by The New York Times, while municipal funding for the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes was expanded to $26 million.
