Netanyahu defies Mamdani, vows NYC visit as he warns 'Jews are living in fear'

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL: Benjamin Netanyahu made one thing clear this weekend: criticism from New York City Hall will not keep him out of America's largest city.

The Israeli prime minister, on Sunday, July 26, used a Fox News interview to push back against Mayor Zohran Mamdani's recent comments about having him arrested if he ever visits New York, declaring that political threats would not dictate where he travels.

But Netanyahu's response quickly moved beyond the personal, turning into a broader warning that New York's Jewish community is facing a climate of growing fear.

Benjamin Netanyahu blasts Zohran Mamdani's 'divisive' tactics

Rather than treating Mamdani's comments as a legal dispute, Netanyahu portrayed them as part of a much larger problem.

He accused the mayor of driving wedges between communities instead of governing the city as a whole.

"He's supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers," Netanyahu said, arguing that leadership should unite people regardless of faith or background.

Instead, he claimed Mamdani was encouraging hostility toward Israel in a way that inevitably spills over onto Jewish residents.

Netanyahu said conversations with Jewish New Yorkers have left him deeply concerned.

According to the Israeli leader, many have described feeling increasingly uncomfortable expressing their identity publicly.

"I speak to Jewish Americans in New York, and they're afraid right now," he said. He claimed some residents now hesitate to wear visible Jewish symbols because they fear becoming targets.

For Netanyahu, that reality is particularly troubling given New York's status as home to one of the world's largest Jewish populations outside Israel.

Netanyahu further added "I intend to visit New York City" and accused Mamdani of aligning with the ideology of violent groups.

Netanyahu links NYC stabbing to anti-Israel hostility

Netanyahu also pointed to Thursday's stabbing of a Jewish man outside a Manhattan synagogue, suggesting the incident reflected a wider atmosphere of hostility.

Without directly accusing Mamdani of responsibility, he questioned whether increasingly heated political language against Israel was helping normalize hatred.

"I don't think it's accidental," Netanyahu said while discussing the timing of the attack.

He described the violence as "shameful" and warned that such incidents damage both New York's image and prospects for peace.

Mamdani's arrest threat against Netanyahu

The latest exchange follows remarks by Mamdani earlier in which he said Netanyahu would not receive the welcome previous New York mayors had extended to him.

The mayor referred to the International Criminal Court's warrant involving the Israeli leader and said he would not welcome "war criminals" to the city.

Although Mamdani later acknowledged he lacks the legal authority to enforce an ICC warrant, his comments quickly drew international attention.

"I want to make it very clear that that welcome ends with me. I will not welcome Benjamin Netanyahu or any other war criminals when they come to this city," Mamdani said.