Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, 55, called for Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s arrest during a press conference Thursday, turning the tables on the pro-Palestine socialist who has pledged to detain Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his upcoming New York City visit.
Danon accused Mamdani of incitement and collaboration with America’s enemies, escalating a weeks-long feud between the diplomat and the mayor ahead of Netanyahu’s scheduled appearance at the UN General Assembly next Wednesday. The ambassador’s broadside came after Mamdani spent months vowing to pursue legal avenues to arrest the Israeli leader for alleged war crimes.
“If someone should be arrested, it’s Mayor Mamdani for inciting, for actually collaborating with the enemy of the United States,” Danon said, according to C-SPAN footage.
The ambassador specifically pointed to Mamdani’s international affairs commissioner attempting to arrange a meeting with the Iranian ambassador in July. “He sends these officials to meet with the Iranian ambassador here at the UN,” Danon said.
Danon framed Mamdani’s conduct as a dereliction of mayoral duty during a high-profile diplomatic week. “I hope that he realizes he has a responsibility, not to call for people to demonstrate but to take care of the city and to make sure that next week will be a quiet, functioning week for the thousands of people that will come from all around the world,” he added.
The ambassador dismissed Mamdani’s anti-Netanyahu rhetoric as toothless intimidation. “Prime Minister Netanyahu will proudly address the General Assembly. He will do so despite threats, incitement and antisemitic rhetoric we have heard from the mayor of the city of New York,” Danon said, according to footage posted by Jewish Insider.
He continued: “The mayor is supposed to make sure we have a quiet week with less traffic and issues — but he’s doing the exact opposite. He’s inciting, calling for people to demonstrate against our prime minister but none of that will stop us.”
Mamdani’s campaign to arrest Netanyahu dates to his mayoral run in late 2025, when he made the pledge a prominent feature of his candidacy. The mayor has repeatedly doubled down on social media and in public statements, including a July declaration that he was seeking a legal loophole to detain Netanyahu during the September visit.
At a security briefing Thursday, Mamdani addressed whether NYPD officials had pressured him to moderate his Israel-related rhetoric before planned anti-Israel protests next week. “The conversations that I’ve had with the police department have been purely on standard preparations for this event, as well as standard preparations for keeping New Yorkers safe,” he replied. “And I’m fully confident in our police department’s ability to do so, and I’m fully confident in their ability to do so each and every day, even outside of the General Assembly.”
The mayor confirmed he is arranging meetings with foreign dignitaries during the General Assembly but declined to provide specifics. “I will have a few meetings that we’re in the process of setting up at this time, that we’ll share more details about soon,” Mamdani said.
He remained similarly guarded about a potential meeting with President Donald Trump, who is expected to attend the UN assembly. “When it comes to the president, we continue to have a conversation about how best to deliver for this city, and that is a conversation that has been done in person, has been done over the phone, and it will continue so long as either of us have the ability to deliver for the city,” Mamdani said.
During his press conference, Danon also addressed Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas and security threats from Syria, Hezbollah and ISIS. The ambassador himself has not always aligned with Netanyahu’s government, with the UK Guardian previously describing him as a “right-wing thorn in Netanyahu’s side.”
Netanyahu is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly next Wednesday in New York City.