Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to use his UN address on Thursday to berate New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for calling him a war criminal, a feud that highlights the Israeli leader’s growing isolation ahead of elections at home that he may lose.
Addressing the mayor directly in a video statement this week, Netanyahu said he was going to New York “to tell the truth about our heroic soldiers” and “to tell the truth about you.”
He falsely accused Mamdani of supporting Hamas.
Mamdani campaigned for office on a promise to have Netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes should he visit the largest US city, though he later said he determined he lacked the legal authority to do so.
This week, Mamdani described Netanyahu as “the architect of a horrific genocide against Palestinians.”
Netanyahu, who rejects war crimes allegations, will be making his first visit to New York since Mamdani took office in January.
Israelis opposed to Netanyahu’s right-wing government are planning to protest in New York.
Opinion polls suggest an Israeli general election five weeks away could end Netanyahu’s long hold on power.
The campaign is unfolding amid mounting criticism of Israel’s Gaza war and without a planned meeting with US President Donald Trump.
“He’s not really speaking to the UN, he’s speaking to the Israeli public,” said former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, who expects Netanyahu’s address to resemble a “campaign speech.”
