NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani vows to arrest Netanyahu if elected
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Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has repeated his controversial promise to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested if he visits the city and Mamdani is elected.
He made the statement during an interview with The New York Times, saying, “This is something that I intend to fulfill.”
Mamdani explained that although the U.S. does not recognise the authority of the International Criminal Court (ICC), he would honour the court’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu. The warrant accuses the Israeli leader of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. “It is my desire to ensure that this be a city that stands up for international law,” Mamdani added.
The proposal has drawn significant controversy. New York is the second-largest home to Jewish communities in the world, and Mamdani’s stance is expected to provoke backlash. This comes after he declined to condemn the slogan “globalise the intifada,” which calls for international support for Palestinian resistance, though he did say he would discourage its use.
However, there are serious legal obstacles to carrying out such an arrest.
Federal law grants immunity to foreign heads of state, and an arrest would only be possible if there was a violation of city or state law.
Mamdani defended his stance by saying that local and state governments must act when federal leadership fails. “This is a moment where we cannot look to the federal government for leadership,” he said. “This is a moment when cities and states will have to demonstrate what it actually looks like to stand up for our own values, our own people.”
He cited former San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s 2004 decision to issue same-sex marriage licenses in defiance of federal law as an example of bold local action.
In addition to Netanyahu, Mamdani also expressed his intent to seek the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, against whom the ICC issued an arrest warrant in 2023.
Netanyahu himself has dismissed Mamdani’s threats.
Speaking at the White House in July, he said, “Look there's enough craziness in the world, but I guess it never ends,” and added, “It's silly in many ways because it's just not serious.” He also remarked, “I'm going to come there with President Trump and we'll see.”
Trump, too, commented, “He better behave. Otherwise, he's going to have big problems.”
The remarks come amid an ongoing conflict in Gaza, where more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to health officials. Netanyahu has declared his intention to continue the war until Hamas is disarmed and releases hostages taken during its October 7 attack, which resulted in 1,200 deaths.