Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday ratcheted up the tension with Mayor Mamdani ahead of his visit to New York City later this week, saying he was going to “tell the truth” about Mamdani during his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
The video leveled heavy, if unfounded, accusations against the mayor, saying Mamdani has incited riots against Jewish New Yorkers and stating that he supports the Hamas terrorist organization.
“Shame on you, Mr. Mamdani,” Netanyahu said in a video posted to X. “Shame on you for supporting the Hamas terrorist monsters who butchered our people. Shame on you for inciting riots against New York Jews. I’m coming to the U.N. I’m going to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers, and I’ve got to tell the truth about you.”
Netanyahu is expected to arrive in New York City on Thursday to make remarks at the United Nations General Assembly. He’s slated to leave shortly after.
ממדאני – אני בא לאו״ם כדי להילחם על האמת של החיילים הגיבורים שלנו – וכדי לחשוף את האמת עליך! pic.twitter.com/141PPbSFHm
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 22, 2026
Mamdani’s sharp criticism of Israel and the war in Gaza has sparked accusations he is fostering antisemitism, which is on the rise in New York City. Local rabbis have argued the mayor’s rhetoric has contributed to the escalation of hate crimes against Jews, though there have been no riots since Mamdani took over at City Hall in January.
Mamdani’s position that he does not support the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state has been particularly controversial among Jewish New Yorkers.
But contrary to Netanyahu’s accusation, Mamdani has called Hamas a terrorist organization and the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks launched against Israelis as “a horrific war crime.”
“We all know that what the prime minister has said in that video is not true,” Mamdani said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The mayor went on to repeat his criticism of the Israel prime minister.
“What we do know to actually be the truth when it comes to the prime minister is that he is the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. And as the prime minister is the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians, and that just a few days ago, his military killed an 11-year-old boy in what is deemed to be a safe zone in Gaza.
“So that is what I have to say to his video.”
On the campaign trail last year, Mamdani pledged to arrest Netanyahu if he came to New York, citing a warrant for the leader over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. He backed away from that pledge this summer, however, saying that the NYPD does not have jurisdiction to do so.
The U.S. is not a party in the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its authority, meaning Mamdani’s original pledge had always been legally questionable. The Israeli government has rejected accusations of genocide, saying the war in Gaza was a military action against the Hamas terrorist regime.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani delivers a speech to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States at City Hall on Friday July 3, 2026 in New York. (Anna Connors/The New York Times via AP, Pool)Mamdani is a strong supporter of Palestine and has been outspoken about the horrors of the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s video came after Mamdani reiterated in a Monday CNN interview that the prime minister was “an architect of genocide” and that he should be arrested.
The U.S. blocked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from coming to the U.N. by denying him a visa. He will nonetheless address the assembly in a prerecorded video also on Thursday.
