Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani of celebrating the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in numerous Israeli casualties. During a Sunday appearance on Fox News, Netanyahu referred to Mamdani's video address on X, where the mayor criticized Netanyahu as a war criminal and called for his arrest if he entered the U.S.
Netanyahu stated, "He celebrated the Oct. 7 massacre, the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust," and claimed that Mamdani supports Hamas. He described the actions of Hamas as genocidal and attributed the genocide charge to Israel's enemies.
Mamdani has accused the Israeli government of genocide and maintaining an apartheid system but has not expressed support for the October 7 attack. In his initial statement on October 8, 2023, Mamdani expressed mourning for the casualties in both Israel and Palestine, focusing on the impact of Israeli government actions on Palestinian civilians.
Following his comments about Mamdani, Netanyahu accused the mayor of inciting division and hate among New Yorkers. He noted that Jewish Americans in New York feel afraid, linking this sentiment to Mamdani's speech and a subsequent incident where a Jewish individual was stabbed after leaving a synagogue.