Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that he still intends to visit New York, despite a public warning from the city’s incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, that he would order an arrest under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.
Speaking at the DealBook Summit hosted by The New York Times, Netanyahu was asked whether he would travel to the city given Mamdani’s comments. “Yes, I will come to New York,” he replied, adding that he would engage with the mayor-elect only if Mamdani “changes his mind and says we have the right to exist,” calling that “a good start for a conversation.”
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who made history as New York’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor, has clarified in the past that he supports Israel’s right to exist. However, he has reiterated that he does not endorse Israel’s definition of itself as a “Jewish state,” arguing that no state should maintain a hierarchy of citizenship based on religion or ethnicity.
The mayor-elect has pledged to direct the New York Police Department to comply with ICC arrest warrants issued for world leaders — a list that includes Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin — should they enter the city’s jurisdiction.