YOU CAN’T SILENCE ME” NETANYAHU TAKES FIGHT WITH NEW YORK MAYOR MAMDANI TO UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took his increasingly bitter confrontation with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani onto the floor of the United Nations General Assembly, directly accusing the mayor of spreading false claims about Israel and making Jewish New Yorkers feel increasingly unsafe.

During a combative address on Thursday, Netanyahu singled out Mamdani while defending Israel’s conduct in Gaza and rejecting accusations that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians.

“Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me,” Netanyahu said.

“You can’t silence me. You can’t silence the truth.”

Netanyahu accused Mamdani of repeatedly and falsely describing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as genocide.

He then delivered one of the most forceful lines of his address.

“Israel didn’t commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu argued that Hamas would have attempted to destroy Israel had Israeli forces not responded militarily following the October 7, 2023 attacks.

His comments represented Israel’s position in an intensely contested international debate over its conduct in Gaza.

Mamdani has repeatedly accused Netanyahu and the Israeli government of genocide, while Israel strongly rejects the allegation and maintains that its military campaign has targeted Hamas.

The genocide question remains the subject of international legal proceedings and political dispute and has not been finally determined by the International Court of Justice.

Netanyahu went considerably further in his criticism of Mamdani.

He accused the New York mayor of praising individuals convicted of supporting Hamas and cited Mamdani’s relationship with political streamer Hasan Piker.

Netanyahu referred to Piker’s widely criticised past remark that “America deserved 9/11.”

The Israeli prime minister also targeted Mamdani’s wife, Rama Duwaji, during the address.

Netanyahu alleged that she had liked social media posts praising the October 7 attack and another post saying Tel Aviv should not exist.

Those statements were presented by Netanyahu as accusations against Mamdani and his wife and should not be treated as independently established evidence that either supports Hamas or endorsed the October 7 killings.

Netanyahu used the claims as part of a broader argument that Mamdani had failed to adequately condemn people and rhetoric the Israeli leader regarded as supportive of Hamas.

He also accused Mamdani of contributing to an environment in which Jewish residents increasingly feel unsafe in New York.

“Since you were elected mayor of this city, many Jews no longer feel safe in New York,” Netanyahu said.

Mamdani has rejected accusations that he supports Hamas and has publicly said he opposes antisemitism and other forms of hate.

The confrontation follows months of increasingly personal exchanges between the two political leaders.

Mamdani has been one of Netanyahu’s most prominent American political critics.

He has described the Israeli prime minister as a war criminal and previously said that Netanyahu should be arrested if he entered New York because of an International Criminal Court warrant.

Mamdani later acknowledged that the New York mayor’s office does not have the legal authority to independently carry out such an arrest.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant in 2024, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity connected to the Gaza conflict.

Netanyahu and Israel reject the allegations.

Israel is not a member of the ICC and disputes the court’s jurisdiction.

Mamdani responded sharply following Netanyahu’s UN address.

He accused the Israeli leader of using the international stage to repeat what he described as false claims intended to defend Israel’s actions against Palestinians.

Mamdani again cited the ICC proceedings against Netanyahu while maintaining his accusation that Israel’s conduct in Gaza amounts to genocide.

The exchange unfolded during an already contentious UN appearance for Netanyahu.

Dozens of delegates walked out as the Israeli prime minister addressed the General Assembly, reflecting the deep international divisions surrounding Israel’s military campaigns and the continuing Gaza conflict.

Netanyahu used his speech to defend Israel’s actions, criticise its opponents and reject international accusations against his government.

Mamdani became one of the most prominent individual targets.

Their confrontation now extends beyond disagreements over Israeli policy.

It has developed into a direct political battle involving antisemitism, Palestinian rights, the Gaza war, the October 7 attacks and the limits of political protest in New York.

Netanyahu’s decision to directly challenge the mayor from the UN podium ensured that a dispute that had largely played out through interviews and social media became part of one of the world’s most prominent diplomatic gatherings.

Mamdani’s response made equally clear that he has no intention of withdrawing his criticism.

The two men remain fundamentally opposed over Israel’s conduct in Gaza and over how the events following October 7 should be characterised.

Netanyahu says Israel has been fighting to prevent the destruction of its people.

Mamdani maintains that Israel’s conduct against Palestinians constitutes genocide.

Those competing claims now sit at the centre of an increasingly personal confrontation between the Israeli prime minister and the mayor of the city hosting the United Nations.