Mamdani calls Netanyahu ‘architect of horrific genocide’ as UN showdown gets personal

BS BULLETIN:

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani fired back after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused him of supporting Hamas and inciting unrest against Jewish New Yorkers.
Mamdani cited the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu and called him the “architect of horrific genocide against Palestinians.”
Netanyahu says he is coming to New York for the U.N. and plans to “tell the truth” about Mamdani.

The war of words between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone fully personal just as Netanyahu prepares to arrive in Mamdani’s city for the United Nations General Assembly.

Mamdani responded Tuesday after Netanyahu released a video accusing the mayor of supporting Hamas and inciting unrest against Jewish New Yorkers.

“We all know that what the prime minister has said in that video is not true,” Mamdani told reporters.

The mayor then pointed to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Mamdani went further, calling Netanyahu the “architect of horrific genocide against Palestinians” and citing the recent death of an 11-year-old boy in Gaza.

Netanyahu rejects the ICC allegations, and Israel disputes the court’s jurisdiction.

The Israeli prime minister had thrown the first punch in their latest exchange.

“Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani,” Netanyahu said in a video posted Tuesday.

He accused the mayor of supporting Hamas and “inciting riots against New York Jews,” before making clear Mamdani’s opposition isn’t keeping him away.

“I’m coming to the U.N.,” Netanyahu said. “I’m going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I’m going to tell the truth about you.”

The feud has been simmering for months.

Mamdani campaigned on a promise to arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli leader came to New York, citing the ICC warrant. Once in office, however, his administration examined the issue and Mamdani acknowledged that New York City does not independently have the legal authority to execute it.

He instead called on the federal government to act.

That appears unlikely.

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, and therefore has no treaty obligation to execute the court’s warrant. Israel is likewise not a member of the court.

The ICC issued its warrant in November 2024, alleging Netanyahu bears criminal responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to the Gaza war. Netanyahu and the Israeli government have strongly rejected those allegations and challenged the court’s jurisdiction.

The warrant remains in effect.

Mamdani has also previously said Netanyahu is “not welcome” in New York, although he has recently said he is not encouraging protests surrounding the Israeli leader’s visit and does not plan to participate in them himself.

None of that appears to have changed Netanyahu’s itinerary.

He is expected to address the U.N. General Assembly Thursday — and if his Tuesday message is any indication, Gaza won’t be the only subject on his mind.

MY QUICK TAKE

There is something extraordinary about the mayor of the city hosting the United Nations telling a visiting foreign leader he belongs in The Hague — and that foreign leader essentially responding: See you Thursday.

Whatever else happens at the U.N. this week, New York’s diplomatic welcome mat has definitely seen better days.