Watch: Netanyahu Calls Mamdani’s Threat a Joke “I’ll Be There With Trump, We’ll See”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s threat to arrest him over ICC warrants as “silly,” while President Trump called Mamdani a “communist” during a White House event. Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to security, rejecting a Palestinian state that could threaten its existence, citing Hamas’s 2023 atrocities.
White House appearance alongside President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed threats from New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who vowed in December 2024 to arrest him if he visited NYC, citing International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants against Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and a self-described democratic socialist, stated, “This is a city that our values are in line with international law. It’s time that our actions are also.” Netanyahu, unfazed, responded, “I’m not concerned about that. I’m going to come there with President Trump and we’ll see.” He called Mamdani’s remarks “silly” and “not serious,” emphasizing his focus on Israel’s security.
President Trump sharply criticized Mamdani, saying, “We don’t know who the mayor is going to be yet, but this is a communist. He’s not a socialist. He’s a communist, and he’s said some really bad things about Jewish people.” Trump added, “He might make it. But, you know, it all comes through the White House. He needs the money through the White House. He needs a lot. He’s going to behave. He’ll behave. He better behave. Otherwise, he’s going to have big problems.” The ICC warrants, issued in November 2024, have been rejected by Israel and the U.S., with Trump signing an executive order on June 24, 2025, imposing sanctions on ICC officials for targeting allies.
Netanyahu shifted to the broader Israel-Palestinian conflict, referencing Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and abducted 251. He stated, “After October 7th, people said the Palestinians had a state, Hamas state in Gaza, and look what they did with it. They didn’t build it up. They built down two bunkers into terror tunnels, after which they massacred our people, raped our women, beheaded our men, invaded our cities and our towns and our kibbutzim and did horrendous, horrendous massacres, the kind of which we didn’t see since World War Two and the Holocaust.” He rejected a two-state solution that compromises Israel’s security, saying, “So people aren’t likely to say, let’s just give them another state. It’ll be a platform to destroy Israel. We’ll work up a peace with our Palestinian neighbors, those who don’t want to destroy us, and we’ll work out a peace in which our security, the sovereign power of security, always remains in our hands.” He concluded, “Now, people will say it’s not a complete state. It’s not a state, it’s not that, we don’t care. You know, we vowed, ‘never again.’ Never again is now, it’s not going to happen again.”
The exchange, part of Netanyahu’s four-day U.S. visit to discuss Gaza ceasefire talks and the Abraham Accords, underscores Israel’s resolve amid global criticism. Mamdani’s threat, tied to his boycott, divestment, and sanctions support, has fueled tensions, with X posts labeling it “antisemitic posturing.”