Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he will address the United Nations General Assembly in New York, defying the arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court and warnings from the city's mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
It was from the set of Fox News, during the program Sunday Morning Futures, that Netanyahu made his statement: "I intend to come and tell the truth, to speak for Israel and for the Israeli-American alliance from the podium of the United Nations." This statement comes as Mamdani, the Democratic mayor of New York, had declared during his campaign that he would have Netanyahu arrested if he visited the city.
Mamdani has since clarified his position: while he considers the Israeli Prime Minister a war criminal who should be arrested on American soil, the New York municipality does not have the authority to carry out such an arrest.
Netanyahu attacked the mayor repeatedly during the interview. “He’s stirring up hatred. He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers—Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone—but he’s trying to pit one group against another. I’m talking to Jewish Americans, and they’re scared right now,” he said. He also claimed, without evidence, that Mamdani and his wife had “celebrated” the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,100 people in Israel. Mamdani, however, has repeatedly called the attack a “horrific war crime.”
The figures contradict the picture painted by Netanyahu. An AP-NORC poll conducted in June among more than 1,000 Jewish adults in the United States reveals that 44% of them have a "somewhat" or "very" favorable opinion of Mamdani, compared to 39% who are unfavorable. Netanyahu, on the other hand, receives a favorable opinion from only a third of respondents, while six out of ten view him unfavorably, including 42% who are "very" unfavorable. The same poll indicates that 30% of American Jews believe that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
A YouGov poll published this week also shows that 46% of Americans think Netanyahu should be arrested, compared to 28% who oppose it.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. Regarding Iran, Netanyahu warned on Sunday that further Iranian attacks against Israel would be "a terrible mistake," as the joint US-Israeli war against Tehran remains deeply unpopular with the American public.
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