Netanyahu Fears Entering New York/ Muslim Mayor of New York, A New Nightmare for Tel Aviv

According to Rokna, Zohran Mamdani, the Muslim mayor of New York, in an interview prior to assuming office, promised that if he won the election and if Benjamin Netanyahu visited New York, he would detain him for alleged war crimes. The victory of Mamdani, a Democratic politician and staunch critic of Zionism, in the mayoral race in New York, triggered extensive reactions and concern among media outlets and officials of the Israeli regime.

According to IRNA, Mamdani, who won with more than fifty percent of votes in a close contest with Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York, and his Republican rival Curtis Sliwa, becomes the first Muslim (Shiite) and the youngest mayor of this city in over a century. He had earlier pledged that should Benjamin Netanyahu enter New York, he would arrest him for war crimes.

According to Israel’s Channel 7, Yaki Dayan, former Consul-General of the regime in Los Angeles, reacting to Mamdani’s election, stated: “His victory will have a direct impact on the everyday life of Jews in New York and is a sign of a more worrying trend for Israel.” He added: “Now the largest Jewish city in the world is in the hands of an individual who is anti-Israeli, anti-Zionist and even anti-Jewish. This transformation is concerning for those Jews who seek cooperation with Israel.” He also expressed worry that under Mamdani’s mayorship, technological and economic cooperation between New York and Israel might decline, and that this could negatively affect strategic US-Israel relations in the long term.

Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has previously described the policies of the Israeli regime as “lacking moral and human legitimacy” and emphasized that he will not waver in supporting Palestinians in accordance with international law. In one of his articles, near the anniversary of the “Storm of Al-Aqsa” operation, he wrote: “The occupation must end, apartheid must be removed, and the human suffering in Gaza has exceeded imagination.”

He further declared that during his tenure as mayor of New York City, the city will not invest in bonds that support Israel, and he will support the removal of tax-exempt status from New York organizations that assist Zionist settlements.

Meanwhile, Kobi Breda, a historian and Israeli analyst, in an article in Yedioth Ahronoth described Mamdani’s victory as “a serious alarm bell for Israel” and wrote: “This development signals the growth of a movement in the United States that is challenging Israel’s legitimacy.” He added: “Mamdani’s triumph in a city such as New York, which houses the largest Jewish population in the world, shows that the traditional US consensus on supporting Israel is crumbling.” This historian emphasized that the event reflects the expansion of the progressive left within the Democratic Party and the declining position of Israel in American public opinion.