New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has walked back one of his most attention-grabbing campaign promises, acknowledging this week that his administration has no legal authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — despite months of pledges that he would do exactly that if the Israeli leader ever set foot in the city.
In a video posted Tuesday, Mamdani said his administration had reviewed all available options and determined the city can’t execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against Netanyahu, though he added he wants to be equally clear that the Israeli leader is “not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.” He went on to call Netanyahu “the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.”
From Bold Campaign Promise to Quiet Retreat
Mamdani spent much of his mayoral campaign promising that, as mayor, New York City would arrest Netanyahu under the ICC’s warrant — a pledge that even confused some of his own political allies at the time, given that the United States does not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., called the idea “simply unrealistic” and noted flatly that “the City of New York has no jurisdiction to do such a thing.”
Now, instead of following through, Mamdani is calling on the federal government to arrest Netanyahu on his behalf — a request the Trump administration has flatly rejected. President Trump said Netanyahu would not be arrested “in any way, shape, or form” during any visit to the United States.
Republicans Pounce
The reversal drew swift criticism from Republicans, who cast it as empty political theater from the start. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said Mamdani calling Netanyahu a war criminal is “utterly ridiculous,” arguing that the same voices quick to condemn Israel rarely have anything to say about the Hamas terrorists who started the war and “massacred civilians, raped women, kidnapped children.” Ambassador Mike Waltz mocked the walk-back on social media, writing simply that Mamdani “doesn’t have the authority. More political theater.”
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee also condemned Mamdani’s comments, accusing him of “shamefully trading the truth for social media clicks.”
This story is developing.
