Netanyahu to Attend UN General Assembly Despite Mamdani's Arrest Pressure

No Independent Arrest Authority for New York City
Strong Backlash from Jewish Community in New York

AP Yonhap News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he will attend the United Nations (UN) General Assembly scheduled to be held in New York this September, despite mounting pressure for arrest from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

In an interview with Fox News on the 26th (local time), Prime Minister Netanyahu was asked whether he planned to attend the 81st UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York on September 8. He responded, "Of course, I will attend," adding, "I will speak at the UN podium to tell the truth and advocate for Israel and the US-Israel alliance." Netanyahu then harshly criticized Mayor Mamdani, who has stated that he would enforce the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against him, saying, "He is inciting hatred against Jews," and called Mamdani "a supporter of Hamas murderers," referring to the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

On July 18, in an interview with the New York Times (NYT), Mayor Mamdani stated, "Prime Minister Netanyahu is a war criminal indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC)," and added, "If he visits New York for the UN General Assembly, we are considering legal steps to arrest him." The ICC had issued an arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu in November 2024, accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.

However, three days later, on July 21, Mayor Mamdani walked back his statement, saying that New York City does not have the authority to arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu. In a video released via social media, he explained, "New York City does not have the legal authority to independently arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu," and added, "However, the federal government does possess this power. I urge the federal government to join the ICC and enforce the warrant."

U.S. President Donald Trump also stated on July 20 on his social media platform Truth Social, "Prime Minister Netanyahu will not be arrested in any way while in the United States." As a rule, heads of state are granted diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention signed in 1961, which means that the criminal jurisdiction of the host country does not apply. Additionally, because the United States is not a member of the ICC, it is not obligated to enforce ICC arrest warrants and does not recognize the ICC's jurisdiction.

Jewish Americans have strongly protested, accusing the New York mayor of oppressing Jews. According to the New York Times (NYT), the 'United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation of New York,' a major Jewish organization in the city, issued a statement on July 21 declaring, "Mayor Mamdani is targeting New York's Jews and exploiting Israel for political gain," and emphasizing, "New Yorkers elected a mayor to lead this city, not someone who would make Israel the centerpiece of a political spectacle." There are 960,000 Jews living in New York City, the largest population of Jews of any city in the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.