Israeli President Herzog has issued a stark warning to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, stating that the mayor’s rhetoric poses an immediate threat to Jewish residents.
Herzog accused Mamdani of spreading hate and antisemitism while denying the Jewish people’s right to national self-determination. The Israeli president made his warning public following an Orthodox Jewish man’s stabbing in Manhattan and amid growing concerns about antisemitic violence in New York City, which has the largest Jewish population outside Israel.
In a Fox News interview held at Herzog’s official residence in Jerusalem, the Israeli leader emphasized that Mamdani’s repeated characterization of Israel and its elected leaders as war criminals and perpetrators of genocide could exacerbate an already volatile atmosphere.
Herzog stressed that Mamdani does not respect Israel’s right to exist as the national home of the Jewish people and warned that the mayor’s rhetoric could inflict damage on New York that outlasts his administration. The rebuke followed a July 21 video in which Mamdani labeled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and accused him of directing genocide against Palestinians.
Herzog characterized such rhetoric as unacceptable for the leader of a city with deep ties to Israel and Jewish life. He also praised President Donald Trump, crediting the former president with negotiating the safe return of 255 hostages held by Hamas after the October 7 attack.
The Israeli president highlighted Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the relocation of the U.S. Embassy, and acknowledgment of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights as evidence that the U.S.-Israel alliance is built on action rather than political ceremony. Herzog further noted that Iran’s terrorist activities, missile threats, nuclear ambitions, and potential disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz remain significant dangers to both Israel and the United States.
Mamdani’s defenders argue that condemning Israel does not equate with attacking Jewish New Yorkers. In a legal sense, they are correct. Americans have the right to criticize foreign governments, including Israel’s, and holding office does not negate Mamdani’s First Amendment rights.
However, political leaders bear a distinct responsibility: setting the moral temperature of their cities. Mamdani’s actions—removing the city’s use of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, repeatedly making genocide accusations against Israel, and skipping the Israel Day Parade—have deepened distrust among Jewish residents.
The Israeli president made it clear that antisemitism does not remain confined to slogans and protest signs but reaches sidewalks, synagogues, schools, and subway cars.