A Republican New York City councilwoman is putting one of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promises to the test by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the city on Jan. 1 in an apparent challenge to Mamdani’s call to have the Jewish leader arrested.
Inna Vernikov, who represents the city’s 48th District, which encompasses a heavy Jewish population in southern Brooklyn, posted a letter on X on Tuesday inviting Netanyahu to New York City on the day Mamdani takes office.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), which the United States does not recognize, issued an arrest warrant in 2024 for Netanyahu over alleged “war crimes” in Gaza.
On the campaign trail, Mamdani has suggested he will arrest Netanyahu if the Jewish leader entered the city under his tenure.
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“In recent months, there have been irresponsible and frankly absurd statements made by Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who has campaigned on the promise of ‘arresting’ you upon setting foot in our city,” Vernikov, who is Jewish, wrote in her letter to Netanyahu.
“Whether individuals agree or disagree with your policies, you are the duly elected Prime Minister of the State of Israel: a democratic nation that stands as a beacon of hope, freedom, western values, resilience, and strength in a region surrounded by tyranny and terror.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign and Netanyahu’s office for comment.
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Vernikov said, “From ‘free’ buses to arresting Bibi Netanyahu, all of Mamdani’s ideas are fantasies from a utopian pipe dream that will never become reality. The spoiled kids who voted for him are going to realize very quickly that Zohran Mamdani is a scam.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., told the New York Times earlier this year that Mamdani’s proposal was “simply unrealistic.”
“The City of New York has no jurisdiction to do such a thing,” Nadler, a supporter of Mamdani, added.
Mamdani was convincingly elected mayor of New York City last week after bursting onto the political scene earlier in the year and was able to overcome heavy criticism from the Jewish community over his stances and statements related to Israel.
In late October, more than 650 rabbis signed onto a letter condemning Mamdani’s positions on Israel that were labeled antisemitic by many of his critics.
“New Yorkers have spoken, electing Zohran Mamdani as the next Mayor of New York City. We recognize that voters are animated by a range of issues, but we cannot ignore that the Mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values,” The UJA-Federation of New York, JCRC-NY, ADL New York/New Jersey, AJC New York and the New York Board of Rabbis said in a joint statement after Mamdani’s victory.
Since being elected, Mamdani has attempted to reassure skeptics in the Jewish community.
“We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism,” Mamdani said on election night, adding the next day that he takes the issue of antisemtisim “incredibly seriously.”
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