Netanyahu should call Mamdani’s bluff

Published November 20, 2025 5:00am ET



New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani vowed again this week to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu should expose the weakness and dishonesty behind that threat by accepting the invitations of New York’s Jewish leaders to attend Mamdani’s inauguration. If Mamdani wants to open his term with an unlawful international incident, let him. The clarity would be invaluable.

Mamdani first pledged to use the New York City Police Department to arrest Netanyahu in September, two years after he said the NYPD “boot on your neck is laced by the IDF.” Mamdani, who has echoed Hamas’s call to “globalize the intifada,” said Netanyahu is a “war criminal” who has committed “genocide” in Gaza.

Already a print subscriber? Click here to login/register your account

Trusted reporting.Unlimited access.

Subscribe for full access to Washington Examiner coverage, expert political analysis, and subscriber-only journalism.

Get Unlimited Access

Already a member? Log in

Cancel anytime.