Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani “celebrated” Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis.
Speaking in a Sunday appearance on Fox News, Netanyahu addressed Mamdani’s video address on X, during which he derided the prime minister as a war criminal and called for him to be arrested if he entered the U.S.
“He celebrated the Oct. 7 massacre, the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust,” Netanyahu said.
“He’s basically supporting. He tries to say that he doesn’t, but he’s supporting the Hamas murderers who raped our women, then beheaded them, burned babies alive, slaughtered our men, took innocent people hostages — 251 men, women, children, babies. That’s who he’s supporting, and they’re the ones who are responsible for genocide,” he continued.
“They would have killed, as their charter says, and as they themselves proclaim, they would have killed every single Jew in Israel and every Jew in the world. So the genocide charge belongs to our enemies,” Netanyahu added.
Mamdani has repeatedly accused the Israeli government of genocide and upholding an apartheid system but hasn’t voiced support for the Oct. 7 attack. In his first statement on the matter on Oct. 8, 2023, when he was still a New York Assembly Member, Mamdani said he “mourn[s] the hundreds of people killed across Israel and Palestine in the last 36 hours.”
His statement was noted for its focus on the Israeli government’s rhetoric and consequences for Palestinian civilians in Gaza rather than Hamas’s massacre itself.
“Netanyahu’s declaration of war, the Israeli government’s decision to cut electricity to Gaza, and Knesset members calling for another Nakba will undoubtedly lead to more violence and suffering in the days and weeks to come,” Mamdani added.
His statements on the anniversary of Oct. 7 were similar, mourning the losses of both Israelis and Palestinians while focusing his criticism on Israel. Notably, his statements never invoked or praised the “Palestinian resistance,” unlike the Democratic Socialists of America, which he is a part of.
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After his claim about Mamdani celebrating the Oct. 7 massacre, Netanyahu accused the mayor of “fomenting hate” with his speech against him.
“He’s supposed to be the mayor of all New Yorkers — Jews, Christians, Muslims, everyone. But he’s trying to turn one group against the other, and he’s fomenting hate and fear,” Netanyahu said. “I speak to Jewish Americans in New York, and they’re afraid right now. And I don’t think it’s accidental that after he made this hate speech against Israel and against me, the next day, a Jew is stabbed coming out of a synagogue.”