On Tuesday, Mamdani reiterated that he believes Netanyahu is a “war criminal” and “architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people,” and that he agrees “Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes.”
But after that, Mamdani admits that the city of New York “does not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.”
“The federal government, however, does, and I call on it to join the ICC and execute this warrant,” he continues. “And I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City.”
Mamdani adds: “We can decide whether our silence will become another weapon and we can examine every tool to defend the humanity and dignity of all people”
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, the architect of a horrific genocide against the Palestinian people.
He is responsible for the killing of more than 73,000 people; for the maiming of tens of thousands of children, as those who survive undergo amputations without anesthesia; for the targeting of neonatal hospitals and maternity care centers, denying newborns even the chance to live; for the countless people he starved as he blocked food and humanitarian aid from reaching them; and for the gunning down of hundreds of aid workers and journalists.
Just last month, the United Nations confirmed that Palestinian children continue to be deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli armed forces more than eight months after the so-called ceasefire.
The list goes on and on—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. As human beings, we have spent generations building a shared understanding that there are crimes so grave they offend all of humanity.
Anyone with their eyes, with their heart, with their conscience should recognize the devastation he has wrought and understand that he belongs before a court of law.
As I’ve said, I agree with the ICC that Benjamin Netanyahu should be arrested and tried for his crimes, as should anyone else charged by the ICC.
My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here.
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 it to join the ICC and execute this warrant.
And I want to be equally clear: Benjamin Netanyahu is not welcome in New York City, nor is any other war criminal at large.
While we cannot end the genocide on our own, we can decide whether our silence will become another weapon, and we can examine every tool we have to defend the humanity and dignity of all people.
That is my commitment to you.
