Mayor Zohran Mamdani insisted on Monday that his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was directed at a political chief somewhat than Jewish New Yorkers. The mayor additionally repeated that the protection of the town’s Jewish group stays certainly one of his prime priorities.
Mamdani was responding to Netanyahu’s accusation on Sunday that the mayor was “fomenting hate” and making Jewish New Yorkers really feel unsafe following the stabbing of a Jewish man and an Asian man on the Higher West Facet final week.
“I’m not interested in getting into a back and forth with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Mamdani stated when requested concerning the Israeli prime minister’s remarks throughout an unrelated press convention in Brooklyn on Monday morning.
“What I will say is that here in New York City, one of my top priorities is keeping Jewish New Yorkers safe, keeping every single New Yorker safe,” he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the United Nations Basic Meeting on Sept. 26, 2025.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
The NYPD arrested 51-year-old Raul Morales following the 2 stabbings on Thursday. Authorities charged Morales with tried homicide and a hate crime. Each victims had been hospitalized in secure situation.
Mamdani stated Monday that he wished each victims a full restoration and anticipated Morales to be prosecuted “to the full extent of the law.”
“We have no tolerance for hatred; we have no tolerance for bigotry,” Mamdani stated.
He famous that though Jewish New Yorkers make up a minority of the town’s inhabitants, they account for a majority of its hate-crime victims — which he stated was “unacceptable.”
A number of Jewish group leaders and elected officers had urged Mamdani and different public figures to decrease the political temperature following the assaults, though audio system differed over whether or not the mayor bore duty for the broader local weather.
At a Friday press convention close to the positioning of the Higher West Facet assault, UJA-Federation of New York CEO Eric Goldstein immediately accused Mamdani of contributing to hostility towards Jewish New Yorkers. Meeting Member Micah Lasher additionally urged the mayor to rethink his rhetoric.
Legal professional Basic Letitia James, nonetheless, cautioned in opposition to reaching conclusions earlier than investigators decided the suspect’s motivation. Metropolis Council Speaker Julie Menin known as extra broadly on elected officers to “bring the temperature down” with out naming Mamdani.
Residents and political activists repeated among the criticism throughout a rally on the Higher West Facet on Sunday, whereas a pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist Jewish counterprotest defended Mamdani and accused his critics of vilifying him for talking about Palestinian struggling.
Native Higher Westsiders took to the streets in anger Sunday over current hate crime stabbings within the space, and rhetoric from the Mayor, they cost, contributed to the violence.Picture by Dean Moses
Requested Monday whether or not he took these issues to coronary heart, Mamdani once more drew a distinction between Netanyahu and Jewish New Yorkers.
“When I make criticisms of Prime Minister Netanyahu, they are criticisms of Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Mamdani stated. “What I shared were not even, frankly, personal assessments; they were objective facts.”
Mamdani stated his duty was to guard all New Yorkers, no matter whether or not they agreed with him politically.
“My job is to make sure that they are safe, that they are thriving, and they continue to call this city home, and that’s always going to be my north star on how we can do that, because this is an incredible city, and it’s a city where everyone needs to know that their belonging to it is not conditional on how they feel about the mayor,” he stated.
Mamdani additionally pointed to a rise in funding for the town’s Workplace for the Prevention of Hate Crimes. The mayor’s workplace has stated the workplace’s finances is growing from $3 million to $26 million, an almost ninefold enhance.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks in a video launched on July 21, 2026, wherein he stated New York Metropolis lacked the impartial authorized authority to implement the Worldwide Felony Court docket’s arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Picture through Mayor’s Workplace YouTube
The dispute with the Israeli prime minister adopted Mamdani’s announcement final week that New York Metropolis lacked impartial authorized authority to execute an Worldwide Felony Court docket arrest warrant for Netanyahu, regardless of repeatedly saying throughout his mayoral marketing campaign that he would have the Israeli chief arrested if he entered the town.
The New York Occasions reported that Mamdani had already been suggested by metropolis legal professionals that he lacked that authority when he advised the paper he remained in “active conversation” along with his authorized workforce concerning the subject.
Politico individually reported that exterior advisers had urged Mamdani throughout the 2025 marketing campaign to cease discussing an arrest due to the authorized obstacles and the danger of distracting from native points.
Requested Monday why he had described the authorized discussions as energetic after reportedly being advised an arrest couldn’t be carried out, Mamdani declined to elaborate, saying he had nothing additional so as to add.
