Benjamin Netanyahu Accuses NYC Mayor of Fomenting Hate

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of fomenting hate and aligning with Hamas during a Fox News interview on Sunday. The dispute follows public comments by Mamdani, who labeled Netanyahu a war criminal and the architect of a horrific genocide. Critics of the mayor, including an opinion piece from Israel National News, argue that Mamdani uses his office to legitimize hatred against Jews by failing to mention the October 7 attacks or the role of Hamas.

Netanyahu linked the mayor's rhetoric to rising fear among Jewish residents and a recent stabbing of a Jewish man in Manhattan. He dismissed Mamdani's threats to arrest him during a scheduled September visit to the United Nations General Assembly, characterizing the International Criminal Court's war crime charges as bogus.

In the same interview, Netanyahu provided updates on military operations, claiming Israel has destroyed 94% of Hezbollah's missile arsenal and delayed Iran's nuclear program by several years through joint operations with the United States. He also expressed support for a U.S.-brokered normalization deal with Saudi Arabia and voiced concern regarding rising antisemitism within the Democratic Party.