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Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations on Wednesday blasted New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a “clown” for demanding federal authorities arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in the city.
Danon’s remarks came after Mamdani accused Netanyahu of being a “war criminal” and the “architect of a horrific genocide” against Palestinians while calling on the federal government to execute an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against the Israeli leader.
Netanyahu is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan in September.
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“Those baseless remarks about harassing the Prime Minister—it’s a joke, and he’s a clown,” Danon told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
“Everyone knows it’s a show. It’s a stunt,” Danon said. “A mayor should be dealing with the homeless people, the garbage in New York, and leave foreign affairs to the people in Washington who are elected to do it. He should take care of the security of the people in New York—especially the Jewish community, which is seeing the rise of antisemitism—that is his first responsibility.”
The YouTube channel for the New York City Mayor’s Office released a video on July 21 titled, “Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal.”
“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people,” Mamdani begins, restating comments he made in an interview with The New York Times.
Mamdani leveled a series of allegations against the Israeli leader, claiming he was “responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people, for the maiming of tens of thousands of children, as those who survive undergo amputation without anesthesia.”
He also accused Netanyahu of targeting neonatal hospitals and maternity care centers and alleged that he blocked food and humanitarian aid.
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“Just last month, the U.N. confirmed that Palestinian children continue to be deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli armed forces, more than eight months after the so-called ceasefire,” Mamdani said. “All as we, as Americans, pay for the bombs that do the killing. There is a reason the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.”
Danon pushed back sharply against the mayor’s accusations.
“There is a lot of humanitarian aid coming into Gaza every day,” Danon argued.
“Nobody speaks about those issues anymore, but he wants to resume spreading blood libels—promoting the claims of genocide, starvation and all those lies that were spread by him, by his wife and by other people during the war.”
“He wants to go back to this situation, but today there are no humanitarian issues in Gaza,” Danon added.
“Mamdani continues to promote those blood libels against Israel and against the Jews.”
Mamdani also said that City Hall cannot act on the warrant unilaterally.
“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does, and I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant,” Mamdani stated, adding: “Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.”
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Israeli officials strongly deny all charges. Netanyahu’s office has rejected the ICC’s jurisdiction, labeling it “a kangaroo court that has no jurisdiction over Americans or Israelis.”
“People are smart; they know there’s no legal basis for his remarks,” Danon said. “The U.S. is not part of the ICC. There is no warrant that is actually effective against the Prime Minister in the U.S. So it’s a political stunt.”
“We have serious issues to deal with—the war with Iran and other critical matters,” Danon continued.
“The Prime Minister is not actually dealing with Mamdani’s remarks at all. He said it very clearly: he intends to come and speak at the U.N.”
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“Prime Minister Netanyahu will come to New York and will speak in the General Assembly,” Danon said. “The only thing the mayor can do is come to the U.N., grab a seat, listen to the Prime Minister and maybe learn something from his speech.”
“Last year, Mayor Adams came to the Prime Minister’s speech,” Danon noted. “A local leader can come and hear. That’s the only thing he can do.”
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