Republican invites Netanyahu to NYC on day of Zohran Mamdani's mayoral inauguration

Ema Alice: A Republican councilmember has invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to New York City on January 1 in defiance of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's threats to arrest him. "It is with great honor that I extend to you an invitation to visit New York City on January 1, 2026, to meet with members of our community and to reaffirm the deep and enduring bond between the State of Israel and the people of New York City, home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel," Councilmember Inna Vernikov (41) wrote in a letter dated November 10. During Israel's two-year destruction of Gaza, Netanyahu presided over what legal experts, human rights organizations, and scholars have determined to be a genocide against the Palestinian people.

The Israeli PM is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The invitation was extended for the same date that Mamdani (34) is set to take over as mayor of New York City.

"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 wrote.

The councilmember went on to claim that Israel "stands as a beacon of hope, freedom, western values, resilience, and strength in a region surrounded by tyranny and terror."

Mamdani has said he would "exhaust every legal option" to arrest Netanyahu per the ICC warrant should he visit New York City, without making any new laws in order to do so. "Despite the vile rhetoric of unashamed Marxist radicals like Mayor-elect Mamdani," Vernikov said to Netanyahu, "your visit would serve as a powerful reminder that this city stands with Israel, the Jewish people, and the principles that unite our two great nations."

BP/SM