Netanyahu Accuses Mamdani of Trying to Block UN Visit in Fiery UNGA Speech

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu used his address at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday to launch a sharp attack on New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, accusing him of attempting to prevent his visit and of being anti-Semitic.

"Mr. Mamdani, you tried to stop me from coming here. You tried to silence me. Well, you can't silence me. You can't silence the truth," Netanyahu said during the speech.

The Israeli president said Mamdani had distorted facts and inverted the roles of victim and aggressor. "Shame on you," he said, directing his remarks at those he said were spreading lies about Israel and its soldiers, including "the anti-Semitic mayor of New York."

Netanyahu went on to criticise the mayor's associations and those of his wife, Rama Duwaji. He said Mamdani had praised criminals convicted of supporting Hamas and counted as friends people who had made controversial statements. He also accused the mayor of inviting into his home a Palestinian journalist who had filmed Hamas terrorists mistreating Israeli hostages and later admitted refusing to publish the videos.

Turning to Duwaji, Netanyahu said she had liked posts related to the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, including one praising the massacre and another saying Tel Aviv should not exist. He said Mamdani had refused to condemn any of it and had falsely accused Israel of genocide.

"Israel didn't commit genocide. Israel prevented genocide," Netanyahu said, adding that this was what Mamdani's "Hamas buddies" would have done to Israel had it not stopped them.

The speech marks a fresh escalation in the public dispute between the Israeli leader and the New York mayor.