Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza, accusing Mayor Zoharan Mamdani of endangering Jews living in New York. During a speech at the United Nations on Thursday, he said the mayor had spread lies about Israel.

Describing Mamdani as the anti-Semitic mayor of New York, Netanyahu spent part of his speech at the UN General Assembly criticizing the man who threatened to arrest him if he came to the city.

Jews are no longer safe in New York

Mr. Mamdani, since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York, Netanyahu said. They talk to me and say this is not the city we knew, it has changed so fast.

Criticism of Israel’s military operations

This is the latest development in an ongoing debate between Netanyahu and New York City’s first Muslim mayor. The mayor has long been a vocal critic of Israel’s military operations in Gaza and has called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and “instigator of horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.” Mamdani says that criticizing Israel and advocating for Palestinian rights is not anti-Semitism.

Meeting with US President Donald Trump

The mayor met US President Donald Trump in New York this week. During his speech on Thursday, Netanyahu praised the president for his support of Israel, saying, “We have never had a better ally than President Trump.” In a statement, Mamdani reiterated his criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza. More than 73,000 people have been killed so far in the brutal war launched by Netanyahu in response to a Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.

Charged with crimes against humanity

As he has often done, Prime Minister Netanyahu used his speech to repeat baseless lies to justify his genocide against the Palestinians, he said in the statement. However, no amount of lies can change the fact that he is still facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, charging him with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Notice to act on warrant of arrest

During his mayoral campaign last year, Mamdani said he would instruct New York police to act on an arrest warrant issued against Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court, but recently acknowledged that the city did not have the authority to detain him. The mayor has since called on the federal government to arrest Netanyahu, although Trump has said the prime minister will not be arrested. Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here, Netanyahu said in his speech. You tried to suppress my voice. But, you cannot suppress my voice and suppress the truth.